Always There
by alb33
Summary: The Parker and Weasley children had grown up together as best friends. Their parents were incredibly close, so this was understandable. The adults would even joke about Auden marrying a Weasley boy. Then, they would laugh as if they didn't believe it would happen, but maybe the idea really wasn't so farfetched at all. Part 1 of 3
1. Prologue

The Weasley family and the Parker family have been close for years. Molly Weasley and Renée Parker had gone to Hogwarts together, where they met their future husbands, Arthur Weasley and Liam Parker.

Molly and Renee grew up, built houses next door to each other, and married their boyfriends. Molly had seven kids; Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George, Ron, and finally, Ginny, the only girl. Renee had only two kids, Ben, who was Percy's age, and Auden who was Ron's age.

It seemed as if they both had fairy tale lives, but there was a lot more under the surface. For instance, although both Liam and Arthur had jobs at the Ministry, neither family had a ton of money. It was harder for the Weasley family though, with seven kids to take care of.

Their house, referred to as The Burrow, was taller than it was wide. It was a little untidy, but not dirty. Mrs. Weasley would never allow that. There was a rickety staircase leading to the upper floors, and it was impossible to walk through the huge yard without tripping on a garden gnome. Another thing about the Weasleys is that they all have red hair and freckles, even Molly and Arthur.

As for the Parker family, Renee had dark brown hair and bright, shiny, light brown eyes. Liam was tall, with dark brown hair and eyes. Ben had brown hair as well, but had inherited sapphire blue eyes from his grandmother. Auden was a combined image of her parents, with her long, light brown hair and brown eyes that looked dark, but when the light hit them they appeared almost amber.

The Parker and Weasley children had grown up together as best friends. Their parents were incredibly close, so this was understandable. Their parents would even joke about Auden marrying a Weasley boy. The adults would then laugh as if they didn't believe it would happen, but the idea really wasn't so farfetched at all.

* * *

**So this is my first story that I've ever posted here and constructive criticism is always nice :) This is just the prologue, but I have chapter one and part of chapter two written, so hopefully those will be up soon!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or events in the books/movies. The only thing I own is the Parker family.**


	2. Chapter 1: The Early Years

Auden was five years old when she got the small, pale scar above her right eyebrow. It was a thin line, only about an inch long and only noticeable if you looked closely or knew it was there. On the day she received the scar, she had been sitting on the Weasley's living room floor next to the fireplace, playing Wizard's chess with Ron, while Ginny watched. They hadn't _exactly_ been playing since they didn't exactly know how to yet, but they were making an attempt. Bill and Charlie were off at Hogwarts and Percy and Ben were in Percy's room just hanging out. Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Weasley were talking in the kitchen, enjoying one of those rare moments when neither one of them were busy around the house. And of course, Fred and George were running around as usual. They were seven years old and just beginning to show signs of magic and were always excited to show it off. This day was no different.

"Look what we have Ron!" they cried as they ran into the room. Fred pulled a rubber spider from his pocket and dangled it in Ron's face.

"Go away!" Ron whined, swatting the spider out of Fred's hand. It flew across the room and landed near the doorway.

"That wasn't very nice, Ronniekins," Fred said with a grin as he went to retrive the spider.

"It's not very nice of you to taunt him," Auden said, staring down at the chessboard. "It's your fault he hates spiders in the first place."

"Aw, come on, Aud, lighten up," Fred said, tossing the spider in the air and catching it. He repeated the process twice more as he grinned.

"Just get the spider away from me," Ron ordered.

"First of all, it's fake, Ronniekins," Fred said. "And secondly, it _is_ away from you. It's all the way over here...oops." He smirked, letting Auden know that the reason for the _oops _wasn't an accident at all. Fred purposely made the spider fly across the room, right for Ron's face.

In his hurry to get away from the spider, Ron jumped backwards, knocking Auden over sideways and causing her to scrape her head on the corner of the brick fireplace.

"Are you okay?" George asked frantically.

"Merlin, George, she's bleeding," Fred said. He was at Auden's side in a second, crouching down next to her and examining the side of her head.

"How much?" Auden whispered.

"A lot," Fred replied, clearing his throat.

Ron, who was apologizing crazily, started to cry. Auden just sat there in shock, but soon tears welled up in her eyes as the pain from her head and the fact that she was bleeding registered in her brain.

Mrs. Weasley and Auden's mother came running at the sound of the crying and both gasped when they saw Auden's head.

"What happened here?" demanded Mrs. Weasley as Mrs. Parker went to examine her daughter's injury.

"Mum, we couldn't really help it and it was only meant for a laugh. We didn't want anyone hurt," said George.

"What was only for a laugh? Just tell me what you did," said Mrs. Weasley with her hands now on her hips.

"Well, we had the rubber spider and brought it in here to show our darling brother, and then it flew at him," said Fred sheepishly.

"Then I jumped…and hit Auden…she fell…and the fireplace...she hit her head…" added Ron, still sniffling.

Mrs. Weasley closed her eyes and put her hand to her head. "It's not your fault, Ron, but these two," she said, pointing at Fred and George, "are going to have to explain what they were thinking."

"They can't help doing magic," said Mrs. Parker.

"They did it on purpose," Ron said. "They've been making things fly for days and now they're getting used to it."

"Shut up, Ron," Fred said, glaring at his brother.

"Why would you two choose to bring a spider in here when you know Ron hates them?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Like we said," George told her, "it was for a laugh. We didn't expect anyone to get hurt."

Mrs. Weasley sighed and shook her head before turning to Auden's mother. "How deep is the cut? Do you think St. Mungo's is necessary?"

"No, I think I managed to heal it, but it will probably leave a scar," said Mrs. Parker. "It was bleeding pretty heavily."

"We're sorry, Auden," said Fred and George at the same time.

"It's okay, but when I'm seven and start showing signs of magic, I'm going to get revenge," Auden said with a smirk. She glanced at Ron. "And I'm two days younger than Ron, so we'll show signs of magic around the same time, which means you'll have to watch out for the both of us."

"Oh, we're so scared," Fred answered, widening his eyes.

"You should be," Auden said calmly, shrugging one shoulder.

Two years later, it was Auden's seventh birthday. Her mother baked a cake and the entire Weasley family came over to celebrate, minus Bill, Charlie and Percy, of course, who were at Hogwarts. Ben was also at Hogwarts, but he sent her a card, which Auden appreciated greatly. Her brother was only a first year and it was so unusual not having him around. She missed him quite a bit.

"So, you can teach us our lessons now," Fred told Auden as he stuck a forkful of cake into his mouth and sat next to Auden at the kitchen table. George sat on his other side and grinned.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, licking leftover frosting from her fork.

"You mean you've forgotten? When you got your scar, you said you would get back at George and me. Any day now you'll be showing signs of magic. Unless, of course, you happen to be a Squib."

"I am not a Squib!" Auden cried.

Fred smiled. "What's wrong with being a Squib? It's okay if you end up being one. We'll all still love you. George and I will even send you regular letters from Hogwarts when we go, telling you what you're missing."

Auden scowled and narrowed her eyes at him. Suddenly, Fred and George's eyes widened.

"What?" she asked.

"Your hair," George whispered, pointing.

"It looks like someone rubbed a balloon over your head," Fred added.

Auden blinked and she reached up to touch her head. Sure enough, multiple strands of her hair were standing on end. Suddenly, they dropped back down. She smiled before smirking at Fred and George. "Looks like I'm magical after all. You two better watch out."

"If making your hair stand on end is the best you can do, then I don't think we have a lot to worry about. Do you agree, Georgie?"

George nodded. "I'd say we're safe, Freddie."

Auden smirked back at them and all she said was "We'll see."

* * *

About a month later, Auden was tossing a Quaffle back and forth with Ron in the field behind the Burrow. Ron threw the Quaffle her way, but it was a bad throw. Nevertheless, she stretched out her arms to attempt to catch it, but she slipped off her broom, instead.

"Auden!" Ron cried as she plummeted towards the ground.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Auden prepared herself for the fall, but it never came. She felt her feet gently come into contact with the ground. Opening her eyes, she saw Ron landing in front of her, looking amazed.

"What happened?" Auden asked in a whisper.

"You just landed on your feet. Like a cat," Ron said. "Turned in mid-air and slowly floated to the ground." He smiled. "Pretty exciting to be showing other magical signs besides making your hair stand on end."

Auden grinned. "And it's the perfect way to get back at Fred and George."

"Yeah?"

Auden nodded. "I have a plan."

The next day, Auden and Ron invited Fred and George to play a game of Quidditch. In the middle of the game, Auden fell off her broom, but this time, it was on purpose. However, Fred and George had no idea. Both of them zoomed to catch her, but they stopped short when they saw her land gracefully back on her feet.

"Gotcha!"

"Merlin, Aud, don't ever do that again!" Fred cried, landing beside her, his face pale.

"Were you scared?"

"Terrified," Fred breathed.

"So you do care about me," Auden gasped dramatically.

"Of course we do. Besides, Mum would kill us if anything happened to you. And so would your mother. It's our job to look after you, especially when Ben isn't around."

"How sweet," Auden smirked.

Fred and George turned to Ron, who had just landed beside them, laughing. "You knew?" they asked.

Ron nodded. "That was brilliant!"

"The other day I fell off my broom for real and slowed myself down," Auden explained. "I thought it would be the perfect way to get you two back for giving me this scar. Not that I actually mind it, of course. It makes me look tough."

"Not at all," Fred teased.

"Oh, please, it does and you know it."

George crossed his arms and smirked. "Well, one thing's for sure. You're definitely not a Squib. Congratulations, Aud."

"Looks like I'll be going to Hogwarts with the rest of you," Auden teased.

The twins groaned. "Oh, no," Fred said, "just what I wanted. More of seeing you every day."

"Just think. You'll have two whole years where I won't be there and you won't see me for months at a time," Auden said. "Enjoy them while you can."

Fred smiled and tilted his head. "You know, George, I think it's time we start considering Auden one of us."

"I agree," George smirked.

"What do you mean?" Auden asked. She didn't like where this was going.

"You have the potential to become a great prankster," Fred said seriously, "and I think it's time we started treating you like one."

Auden laughed. "Are you serious?"

Fred and George grinned. "Of course. Honestly, George and I didn't expect you to successfully get us back for giving you your scar, but you did."

"So, what, that officially made me a prankster?" Auden asked, laughing again.

Fred and George nodded and grinned. They took a step towards her. "And now we have to initiate you."

"Initiate me?" Auden squeaked, taking a step backwards. She wasn't laughing anymore. And now she _really_ didn't like where this was going.

Fred and George nodded and glanced at each other before lunging forward and grabbing Auden. George took her arms while Fred grabbed her legs and lifted.

"Let me down," she screamed, trying to wiggle free, but Fred and George were strong for nine year olds and they held on tight. They carried her all the way to the pond behind the Burrow and suddenly, Auden knew what was going to happen. "Please put me down," she squealed.

"No can do, Aud," Fred answered.

"Where's Ron? He'll help me," she said.

"Ron's back where we left him, laughing his head off at you," George said through gritted teeth, trying to keep his hold on Auden's arms. "Ready, Fred?"

"Ready, George," Fred said. "One," he began, as he and George swung Auden forwards.

"Two," George continued, swinging her backwards.

"Three!" they said together, tossing her into the pond.

Auden screamed as she hit the cold water. Flailing to the surface, she sprayed a stream of water out of her mouth and glared at the twins as she treaded water. "I hate you," she scowled.

"Aw, did we ruin your hair?" Fred teased, pouting dramatically.

"You better run," Auden threatened, fighting her way out of the pond. Fred and George took her advice and ran towards the house, laughing the whole way.

* * *

The summer after Auden turned eleven was one of the most exciting summers of her life. It was the summer she received her Hogwarts letter.

She was eating breakfast when it happened. A large, brown owl flew through the open window and landed in the middle of the kitchen table. Auden stared at it with wide eyes.

"I know what that is," Ben grinned from across from her. "Mum, Dad, get in here!" he yelled.

Mr. and Mrs. Parker came running just as Auden was taking her letter from the owl's grasp. "What is it?" they asked.

"My Hogwarts letter," Auden whispered, looking down at the thick envelope in her hands. "My very own."

"Well, open it," Ben urged.

Auden did as she was told and pulled out the letter inside. "Dear Miss Parker, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She let out a squeal. "I don't believe it!"

"Well, we all knew it was coming," Ben snorted.

"Yes, but it's always exciting when it actually does come," Mrs. Parker said as she and Mr. Parker hugged Auden.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Ben stood up to answer it and Ron came barreling into the room. "Did yours come?" he asked, waving his letter in Auden's face.

She held up her letter. "Just came about two minutes ago," she grinned.

Ron let out a cheer and sat down in Ben's empty seat.

"Oi," Ben said, "I was sitting there."

"Did you look at the list of supplies?" Ron asked Auden, ignoring Ben. He even ate a spoonful of Ben's cereal.

"Not yet," Auden giggled as Ben snatched the bowl away and started gobbling the rest of his breakfast down.

"The most exciting thing is obviously the wand," Ron said. His face fell. "But I think I'll be getting Charlie's old one."

"Well, at least it's a wand," Auden said, feeling slightly guilty. Her family wasn't exactly rich, either, but with only two kids as opposed to seven, Auden would be able to get a brand new wand. Besides, Ben still had his and he had never gotten a new one, which meant there were no extra wands for Auden to use anyway. "We can bring an animal," she added, trying to get the subject off of the wands. "A cat, owl, or toad."

"I'll probably be bringing Scabbers," Ron said miserably.

"Really?" Auden asked, wrinkling her nose. She wasn't too fond of rats and had always tried to keep her distance from Scabbers, Percy's old rat. She wasn't exactly terrified, but she didn't like him either. It was going to be a lot harder to stay away from Scabbers if Ron had him.

"Wish I could have an owl," Ron muttered. "They're really handy. I could send letters without having to go use a school owl. All Scabbers is good for is sitting around doing nothing."

"Well, I don't think I'll be getting an owl straight away either," Auden said, "and you're right, they are really handy, so I think that's what I'd like eventually. But like I said, I probably won't get one right away."

"We can share Scabbers."

Auden shook her head. "I'd rather not."

"Percy's been made Prefect," Ron stated, looking up from reading over the supply list. "His badge came in with his letter this morning."

Auden smirked. "Have Fred and George stolen his badge yet?"

"When I left, they hadn't, but I know they were formulating their plan. It might be safer if I stayed over here until things settle down."

"Well, you're certainly welcome to," Auden answered. She sighed happily and looked down at her letter. "I can't believe we finally got these."

"How positively _grown up_ you are," Ben teased, sticking his cereal bowl in the sink.

"Shut it, Ben," Auden ordered. "You're fifteen. You aren't any more grown up than I am."

"That's what you think," Ben argued. "I'm practically a grown up man."

"And I'm a dragon," Auden snorted.

"You certainly look like one," Ben teased as he left the room. He had to duck as Auden chucked a spoon at his head.


	3. Chapter 2: Off to Hogwarts

The weekend after Auden and Ron received their Hogwarts letters, Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Parker brought everyone to Diagon Alley to buy their school things. They made their way to the bookstore to get their books, but Auden was more interested in getting her wand. After a lot of begging, Mrs. Parker finally agreed to pick up Auden's books while Auden went next door to get her wand. Ron wanted to go with her, just for an opportunity to see her buy her wand, but Mrs. Weasley made him stay behind so that he could help pick out his books. Sending him a sympathetic smile, Auden walked next door and pushed through the door to Ollivanders. She stared around at the massive shelves of wands in awe.

"Can I help you?" asked a quiet voice to her right.

When Auden turned around, she saw it was Ollivander, the store owner, smiling at her. "Yes, I need a wand," she told him. "My name is Auden Parker."

"Ah, yes, Miss Parker," said Ollivander. "I remember selling your mother and father their first wands."

"You do?"

"Yes, I remember all my customers and the wands I sold to them, Miss Parker. Now, let me see if I can find you a wand." Ollivander said, his blue eyes twinkling happily.

Auden looked around as Ollivander disappeared around a corner towards the back of the shop. Just then, the door to the shop opened and a young boy and a large man entered.

"Hello," Auden said to the boy. "I'm Auden. What's your name? Are you going to be a first year at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I'm a first year. I'm Harry Potter, and this is Hagrid."

Auden's eyes widened, but she didn't want to make a big deal out of being face to face with Harry Potter. She figured he got that a lot and didn't want to frighten him, so she simply said "Nice to meet you, and you too Hagrid."

"Nice ter meet yeh, Auden. Look at that, Harry, yeh already made a new friend," said Hagrid.

"You're the only person who's been normal to me," Harry told Auden. "Everyone else I've met goes into shock when they see me."

"I figured you'd get a lot of people acting funny, so I did the opposite," Auden said honestly. "I figured it must be tough on you. Of course, unless you _want_ me to freak out on you."

"No, not at all, and thanks," smiled Harry, looking more comfortable.

"No problem," answered Auden. "Are you excited to get your wand?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "It's definitely what I'm most excited for, but I've kind of been in awe of everything. I only found out I was a wizard last night, actually."

"_Last night_?" Auden asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"My aunt and uncle are Muggles and they never told me," Harry said. "They even tried preventing me from opening my Hogwarts letter, but Hagrid found us last night and made sure I got to read it."

"We couldn't have Harry Potter not gettin' his Hogwarts letter, could we?" Hagrid asked with a grin.

Auden smiled. "No, that wouldn't be good at all," she said as Ollivander returned from the back room, carrying wands for Auden to try. She tried about five different ones before she finally found the one that was meant for her. Once she had paid for it, she left the store with a cheerful wave to Harry and Hagrid. "See you at school!"

"What took you so long?" asked Ben when Auden returned to the bookstore.

"I ran into someone," Auden answered, walking away towards Ron, Fred, and George. She didn't want to say who she ran into, because she didn't want seven other people trying to find Harry so that they could ogle at him. She felt bad that he probably got that a lot from complete strangers.

"Who?" Ben asked, following her. "You don't know anybody to possibly run into."

"It was someone else that's going to be a first year at Hogwarts," Auden shrugged. "We talked while we waited for Ollivander to bring out some wands."

"Hey, let's see it!" Ron said excitedly, when he saw Auden.

She fished the wand box out of the bag Ollivander had given her and opened it. "Acacia, eleven inches, unicorn tail hair core," she recited happily.

"Wow," Ron breathed. "I wish I could go buy my own wand, but Mum handed me Charlie's old one this morning."

"Be grateful you have one at all," Fred said. "And be grateful it works."

Auden tucked the wand back into her bag and turned to the shelves of books beside them. "So, any luck with your books?"

"Yeah, Mum's paying for them now. Your mother's with her, getting yours."

Auden nodded and continued to examine the shelves as Ron, George and Ben began to wander away. She chewed on her lip as she absentmindedly stared at the books in front of her without really seeing them at all. She was actually feeling a bit nervous about Hogwarts all of a sudden. What if it wasn't everything she had imagined it would be? What if it was terrible?

"Hey, what's up?" Fred asked in a whisper, leaning on the shelf beside her and folding his arms across his chest.

"Hogwarts is really happening," she whispered, expressing her concerns. "I'm really going. What if I'm awful at all of my schoolwork? What if I don't make any friends?"

"You have Ron, George, me, your brother….and Percy, although I doubt he'll want to act like your friend. He's a prefect now, after all."

"Yeah, but how terrible would it be if my only friend at Hogwarts was my brother? And I can't always bother you and George. You have your own friends. And what if Ron makes new friends and doesn't want me as a friend anymore?"

Fred snorted. "That won't happen. Honestly, it's just a case of pre-Hogwarts jitters. They make you think crazy things. Everyone gets them before they go to Hogwarts."

"Even you?" Auden whispered.

Fred smirked. "No," he answered, shaking his head. "George and I were the exception."

Auden laughed and looked up at him. "Comforting."

Fred grinned. "You'll be fine. Really, I'm sure people will be lining up and begging to be friends with you. And the teachers will love you so much that they'll have no choice but to give you top marks in everything."

"Yeah, right, if you and George have been any kind of influence on me at all, the teachers will hate me."

"They won't hate you. I don't even think they hate me and George. They just get extremely annoyed. Besides, you aren't exactly like us. You're more…sane and level headed."

Auden smiled. "Why, thank you," she said, batting her eyelashes.

"All you really have to worry about is the sorting. They make you fight a giant troll to figure out your skills and from there, they decide what house suits you best."

"Don't lie to me, Fred," Auden sighed. "There's no troll. I _know_ you. You care about me enough to make sure I'm not totally nervous, but you still want to scare me a little."

"Oh, so you think I care about you?" Fred teased, raising his eyebrows.

"I guess I was mistaken, then," Auden said, rolling her eyes. "How could I have been so silly? How could I have thought one of my closest friends didn't care about me?"

"So you think we're close friends?" Fred asked.

Auden scowled at him. "Shut up, Fred."

Fred simply laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

A few days after going to Diagon Alley, it was time to go to Hogwarts. The two families traveled together to Kings Cross Station and walked in a huge group to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10.

"Ben, Percy, you two go first," Mrs. Weasley instructed. The two boys nodded and took off at a fast walk towards the barrier. Auden smiled slightly to herself as they disappeared.

"Alright, Fred, you next," Mrs. Weasley continued, gesturing to Fred.

"He's not Fred. I am!" George said in annoyance.

"Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother," Fred sighed, shaking his head.

Auden fought back a laugh. One would think she was used to Fred and George trying to confuse their own mother, but she found that it never got old.

"Oh, sorry, dears," Mrs. Weasley said.

Fred pushed his trolley around his mother until he was facing the barrier. He turned and smirked at Mrs. Weasley. "I'm only joking. I am Fred." With that, he laughed and jogged towards the barrier, George right behind him.

"Those two," Mrs. Weasley sighed. She and Mrs. Parker turned towards Auden and Ron as Ginny looked up at them longingly. She looked as if she was about to start sniffling. The youngest Weasley wanted to be old enough to go to Hogwarts so badly.

"Hey, don't worry, Gin," Auden said positively. "One more year until you'll be going to Hogwarts, too. Only three hundred and sixty-five more days."

"That's a lifetime," Ginny sighed.

"It'll go by fast," Auden assured her.

"Now, it'll most likely be crowded once we get onto the platform," Mrs. Parker said, dusting off Auden's shoulders. "So you two remember to be good, study hard, and write if you need anything.

"We would tell you to not let Fred and George lure you into doing anything you don't think is appropriate, but I'm not sure you'll take that advice very well," Mrs. Weasley sighed.

Auden and Ron shared a grin and fought back more laughter.

"Excuse me!"

The five of them turned around to see who had spoken. It was Harry. He pushed his trolley up to them and pointed at the stone barrier. "Could you tell me how—how to-,"

"How to get onto the platform? Of course, dear," Mrs. Weasley chucked. "It's Ron and Auden's first time at Hogwarts as well." She gestured to Ron and Auden, who both smiled at him. Auden gave him a tiny wave.

"Hi," Harry said quietly, returning the smile.

"Okay, so all you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. If you're nervous, best take it at a bit of a run," Mrs. Weasley said, pointing at the barrier and patting Harry's shoulder. "You'll be fine. Go ahead before Ron and Auden."

Harry nodded and took a deep breath before running at the barrier. He disappeared just as everyone else had. Once he was gone, Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Parker disappeared with Auden and Ron through the barrier. They found themselves standing on the platform next to a large, red train. Auden grinned. She had seen the train before, of course, but this time she'd actually be getting on it. The mothers helped Ron and Auden get their trunks on board. Then, they hugged and kissed them goodbye, and shooed them onto the train as the whistle blew. The train started to move, and Ron and Auden waved goodbye until their mothers were just specks in the distance.

"Now what?" asked Ron.

"Well, I suppose we should go find a compartment, unless you want to stand here the whole time," Auden said with a smile as she led the way down the train, looking for an empty compartment.

"Here, I found one," Ron called to her as he poked his head into one of the last compartments. It wasn't completely empty though. One little boy sat alone by the window. "Can we sit here? Everywhere else is full," Ron asked as the boy looked over and nodded his head. Auden saw that it was Harry.

"Hi, Auden," Harry smiled.

"Hi! Are you ready for Hogwarts?" she answered as she and Ron sat across from him.

"As I'll ever be," said Harry.

"You've met before?" Ron asked, clearly confused.

"In Diagon Alley when I bought my wand," Auden told him, shrugging and pulling her feet up under her.

Ron turned to Harry and introduced himself. "I'm Ron. Ron Weasley."

"I'm Harry Potter," answered Harry.

Ron didn't bother to hide his amazement. "Wow, can I see your scar?" he asked.

"Ron! Don't be rude," Auden scolded him.

"No, it's okay," Harry answered, pushing back his hair and revealing a thin, lightning bolt, shaped scar.

"Wicked…and you met him and didn't tell me?" Ron asked, turning to Auden.

Auden shrugged and absentmindedly chewed on her thumbnail. "Must've slipped my mind."

"Slipped your mind?" Ron asked incredulously. He looked at Harry and shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder about her."

"Shut up," Auden answered, grinning and giving him a shove.

"Are you two brother and sister?" Harry asked curiously.

"No, we're best friends," Ron told him. "Auden was born two days after me, so we've actually known each other our whole lives. Our parents were friends at school and we live next door to each other now."

"Wow, you're lucky," said Harry when Ron was finished. "I was brought up by my Muggle aunt and uncle and they were terrible. Not all Muggles are, but my aunt and uncle pretty much acted like I didn't exist. I had to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs."

"That's terrible," said Ron. "So you never knew anything about wizards until recently?"

"Nope," Harry shook his head. "I have a lot to learn. I'm going to be terrible at all my school work."

"No you won't. Everyone else is just starting out as well, so everyone is kind of in the same boat," Ron assured him with a smile.

"Yeah, I was nervous before coming as well," Auden said. "So you aren't the only one."

Just then the compartment door opened and Fred and George stuck their heads in. "Hi, Harry," Fred said, "I don't think we introduced ourselves earlier. Fred and George Weasley. I see you've met our brother, Ron, and this little pain in the neck." He ruffled Auden's hair and she shoved his arm away in annoyance. Fred just laughed.

"You've met him already, too?" Ron asked, his mouth dropping open.

"Before we got onto the train," George said. "Anyway, we're going down to Lee's compartment, so we'll see you later. Probably at the Sorting."

"Hopefully you won't get demolished by the huge troll you have to fight," Fred smirked. He and George laughed all the way out the door.

"Troll?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, they told me and Auden we're Sorted into houses by fighting a troll," Ron said.

Harry gulped. "They're joking, though, aren't they?"

"Most likely," Auden said.

"I don't know," Ron said hesitantly.

"Oh, please, they'll think it's funny to scare us," Auden sniffed. She thought it was highly unlikely the first years would be expected to fight a troll. They weren't skilled enough. In fact, many_ adult_ wizards weren't skilled enough. Having first years fight a troll to be sorted was simply silly.

After a few more minutes, the witch pushing the food cart stopped by their compartment and Harry bought piles of snacks for him, Ron, and Auden to share. Ron and Auden took turns explaining to Harry about Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs.

"Hey, Fred gave me a spell to turn my rat, Scabbers yellow…do you want to see?" Ron suddenly asked Harry.

"Yeah!" Harry exclaimed. He looked excited to see magic being done.

Auden rolled her eyes. "Don't be surprised if it doesn't work. Fred and George will do anything for a laugh."

"It's worth a try anyway, though, isn't it?" Ron shrugged. He cleared his through and just as he was about to do the spell, a girl with bushy brown hair appeared at the door to their compartment. She looked quickly around as if looking for something.

"Can we help you?" Ron asked her, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, yes," said the girl in a bossy tone. "Have any of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."

"No," Auden answered. "But we'll let you know if we see him."

"Thank you. I'm Hermione Granger by the way." She looked at Ron. "Oh, are you doing magic?"

"I'm attempting to. My older brother gave me a spell to turn Scabbers here yellow."

"Well, let's see, then," Hermione said. She sat down and looked at him expectantly.

Ron cleared his throat again. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!" Nothing happened. Scabbers didn't even flinch.

"Are you sure that's a real spell? It's not very good, is it?" Hermione scoffed. Ron looked at Harry and Auden and raised his eyebrows as Hermione continued. "Did your brother find it in a textbook? I mean, I've already read through our textbooks, and there was no such spell in a single one of them, but I expect color changing spells come much later. Nevertheless, I highly doubt that was the incantation." She spoke very fast. Auden found it slightly difficult to keep up.

"I think Fred made it up. I figured it wouldn't work," Auden said, shrugging. "He and George are thirteen and will do anything for a laugh."

"Oh," Hermione sniffed, "yes, so they probably made the spell up."

"No kidding," said Ron bitterly, sticking a chocolate frog in his mouth.

Auden turned to Hermione. "I'm Auden Parker and the one stuffing his face is my best friend Ron Weasley. And this is-"

"Harry Potter," Hermione finished. "I know all about you."

"Who doesn't?" Harry sighed.

"I've read about you."

"I'm in books?"

"Yes, you're mentioned in quite a few."

Harry sighed. Ever since I've come into the wizarding world, it seems that everyone knows more about me than I do."

"That's understandable given the way you were brought up," Hermione shrugged. "I had no idea I was a witch myself until Dumbledore delivered my letter personally. I had no idea that what I was doing was magic. Well, I better get going. I still have to look in three more compartments for Neville's toad. It was nice meeting you all." With that, she got up and walked away.

"She's already read our textbooks? We should introduce her to Percy, they'd love each other," Ron laughed.

"She seemed nice enough though," Auden said, almost halfheartedly as Ron just shrugged and stuck another chocolate frog into his mouth.

About an hour later, the train arrived at Hogwarts. Ron, Harry, and Auden put on their school robes and followed everyone else off of the train. They were there at last. Auden didn't know what to feel. She was still a bit nervous, but at the same time, she was really excited and couldn't wait to finally see Hogwarts for the very first time.


	4. Chapter 3: The Sorting

As soon as Auden, Ron and Harry had climbed off the train, they heard a loud voice calling the first years over. It was Hagrid, towering above everyone and holding a lantern. Auden relaxed slightly when she saw the familiar face.

"Firs' years follow me," Hagrid yelled as he led them down a pathway towards the lake, where there was a group of boats waiting for them.

Auden, Ron, and Harry climbed into one and were joined by Hermione, which led to Ron rolling his eyes. The castle was growing closer and closer as they sailed across the lake, with its many lit windows and tall towers. It was beautiful and Auden couldn't stop staring at it. It was just as great as she imagined it to be.

Once the boats had reached the other side of the lake, the first years climbed out and followed Hagrid to the huge oak front doors of Hogwarts. Hagrid pounded on the door with his abnormally large fist. Within seconds, a woman with her hair in a tight bun answered the door. "This is Professor McGonagall," Hagrid announced to the first years.

"Thank you Hagrid, I can take it from here," she said. Hagrid smiled at the first years before continuing into the castle. Professor McGonagall ushered the first years into the entrance hall and went over the rules of the sorting. "It will begin shortly. Wait here until I come back for you," she said, before disappearing.

"So it's true, then," a voice said to Auden's left. "What they were saying on the train? Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."

Whispers floated through the crowed as Auden turned to see who had spoken. A boy with pale blonde hair and grey eyes was leaning against the wall, flanked by two tough looking boys. The one who had spoken pushed off the wall and walked over to Harry. "I'm Draco Malfoy," he said.

Ron snorted as Auden sighed. Malfoy. She knew the name. Her dad and Mr. Weasley worked with Lucius Malfoy at the Ministry.

Malfoy's eyes were immediately drawn to Ron. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask yours. Red hair, hand me down robes…you must be a Weasley."

Ron blushed and looked away awkwardly. Auden frowned and looked up at Malfoy. "Leave him alone, why don't you?"

Malfoy smirked wider. "Ah, yes, you must be Auden Parker. Heard you're always following the Weasleys around like a lost puppy and that your family is almost as bad as they are."

"Shut up," Ron said, shooting Malfoy a look.

"We happen to be best friends," Auden said, crossing her arms. "Hardly considered following them around like a lost puppy."

Malfoy sneered at her before turning back to Harry. "You don't want to start hanging around with the wrong sort," he said, holding out his hand. "I can help you there."

Harry glanced at Malfoy's outstretched hand before staring him in the eye. "I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks."

A look of surprise crossed Malfoy's features, but before he could respond, McGonagall returned and tapped him on the shoulder, gesturing for him to return to the spot he had previously been standing in.

"We're ready for you now," she said. "Follow me." She led them into the Great Hall, which was even better than Auden had imagined. She had heard about the enchanted ceiling, but actually seeing it for herself was incredibe. It was way better than simply hearing about it from her brother and the twins. As Professor McGonagall led them to the front of the room, Auden looked around, taking everything in. Even though she'd be here for an entire school year and have plenty of time to look around, she wanted to see everything she could right now.

When they reached the front of the room, she waited nervously with everyone else at the front of the room as Professor McGonagall set down a wooden stool with a beat up hat lying on it. She smirked. So they didn't have to fight a troll. Still, she wished the sorting didn't take place in front of the whole school. She began to twist her favorite ring around her finger, a habit she had for when she was nervous. The ring was given to her by her mother on her eleventh birthday back in March and Auden hadn't taken it off since.

One by one, the first years were called up to the stool to be sorted. After a while, Hermione Granger was called up. Auden vaguely wondered if Neville's toad had ever been found. Hermione nervously made her way up to the stool. It was funny seeing her so nervous because she looked like the type who never got nervous.

Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on Hermione's head and it seemed like it was there for hours, but it was really only a minute or two before the rip near the brim opened and the hat yelled "Gryffindor!"

Hermione grinned and ran to the Gryffindor table, whose members were all cheering. Professor McGonagall continued down her list of students until she got to Malfoy's name. He was placed in Slytherin almost instantly.

Professor McGonagall then got to Auden's name. "Auden Parker," she called. Auden nervously made her way to the stool, glancing at the Gryffindor table as she went. Ben, Fred and George were smiling at her. She smiled back as her confidence grew. As soon as Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on Auden's head, she heard a voice in her ear. The hat was _talking_ to her.

"Hmm, what have we here? Intelligent…you'd make a fine Ravenclaw. Then again, you have a strong sense of humor, lots of courage, and you value friendship and loyalty above all else, so in that case…Gryffindor!"

Auden breathed a sigh of relief and ran over to the Gryffindor table where Fred, George and Ben all hugged her.

"You did it little sis. You managed to not land yourself in Slytherin," Ben said with a smile.

Auden replied by sticking out her tongue and sitting down next to Fred to watch everyone else get sorted. Harry was the next person she knew that was called up to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide before finally yelling "Gryffindor!" The decision was met with the loudest cheers yet. Auden clapped with the rest of the table as Harry joined them. She shot him a warm smile before looking back to the front.

Eventually, Ron's name was called and he was put into Gryffindor as well. A few minutes later, the Sorting was done, and Dumbledore stood up. He went over the school rules and also announced that the third floor corridor was off limits to all students. Auden asked Percy why.

"I don't know, but I'm sure Dumbledore has his reasons," Percy answered.

"You mean Dumbledore didn't entrust the _prefects_ with such a secret?" Auden gasped as Fred and George laughed. Even Harry gave a tiny smile. "I'm shocked," she continued.

"Well," Percy said as his ears turned red, "I'm sure, once again, that Dumbledore has his reasons for not telling the prefects."

"Maybe he told the other prefects, but not you," Auden smirked. "Did you ever think of that?"

"That's ridiculous," Percy scoffed. "Honestly, don't you ever think things through?"

"It was a joke, Perce," Fred laughed.

"I know that." Percy rolled his eyes.

"Sure you did," George said, shaking his head and sharing a look with Fred and Auden.

Auden smiled at him and fought back a giggle as food magically appeared on the tables. Auden hadn't seen so much food in her life. She almost didn't know what to eat first.

"So," she said casually, looking at Fred a few minutes later.

"So what?" he asked.

"That was some troll I had to fight," she said, dragging her fork through her mashed potatoes. "It was so difficult. I don't know how I got away unharmed."

"I don't know how you did it either. It was very impressive," Fred said with a grin. "Fantastic job."

Auden snorted and shook her head.

"Please don't tell me you told her she had to fight a troll."

Auden looked up to see who had spoken and saw the girl sitting on George's other side, looking at Fred with narrowed eyes.

"Of course I did, Ange. I told you it's tradition in my family. Bill and Charlie told Percy, George and I the same thing."

"I'm not your family, though, so couldn't you have spared me?" Auden asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You're almost like family," Fred retaliated.

"Lucky you," the girl next to George said, smiling at Auden and rolling her eyes. "I'm Angelina," she added. "I've heard a lot about you."

"You have?" Auden asked in surprise, looking at the twins.

"Well, of course," Fred shrugged. "We met Angelina on the train ride on our first day and typically when you first meet someone you tell them about yourself and your family and friends. We told Lee just as much about you as we told Angelina." He pointed to a boy with dreadlocks sitting beside Angelina.

"Ah," Auden said as she and Angelina shared another smile and Angelina rolled her eyes again. "I see."

When dinner was over, dessert appeared and Auden found herself having a hard time deciding what to eat. She had the biggest sweet tooth ever. Next to her, Fred picked up a cupcake. "Hey Aud," he said.

"Yeah?" she answered, turning to him.

Fred scooped up a blob of frosting with his finger and plopped it on her nose. "Welcome to Gryffindor."

Ron and Harry began laughing, so Auden smeared frosting on both of their noses. They were all laughing so hard, that they almost didn't notice Dumbledore stand up again. "You students have a full day of magical learning tomorrow, so off to bed! Prefects will show first years to their dormitories."

Percy jumped up right away and immediately began leading the first years to the dormitories. Auden waved goodbye to Fred and George before jogging to catch up with Harry and Ron. Percy led them up about a million flights of stairs and down a few different corridors until they reached a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. "Password?" she asked.

"Caput Draconis," Percy answered, leading to the portrait swinging open and revealing a hole in the wall. Percy stepped through the hole and the first years followed. They gathered around where Percy was standing in the middle of a room with big, comfy armchairs and couches, shiny wooden tables, and a large fireplace. Percy explained that this was the Gryffindor common room and that the girls' dormitories were up the stairs and to the right, and the boys dormitories were the same, but to the left.

Auden said goodbye to Harry and Ron at the door to her dormitory and went inside. Hermione was already unpacking her things. She smiled at Auden and said "your things are right here, on the bed next to mine." Auden returned the smile and unpacked. Then, the other two girls in their dorm walked in and introduced themselves as Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. They seemed friendly, but it was clear they had already met either at the feast or on the train and had hit it off instantly. After they had introduced themselves to Auden and Hermione, they spent their time unpacking and talking mainly to each other.

"So, what do you think so far?" Auden asked Hermione once the two of them had finished unpacking and had changed into their pajamas. She sat down on her bed, kicked her shoes off and tucked her feet under her.

Hermione inhaled and looked around. "It's more than I ever imagined it would be," she said. "It's beautiful here."

"It is," Auden agreed.

"I can't believe for my entire life I never even knew any of this existed," Hermione sighed, sitting down on her own bed. "I've almost felt like I'm in a dream all day."

Auden smiled. "It's probably a lot to take in all at once. It's almost even a lot for me and I've grown up knowing about all this."

"You're lucky," Hermione said quietly. "You'll fit in just fine."

"You fit in, too," Auden said, looking at Hermione in confusion.

"I hope so," Hermione answered, pulling back her covers and lying down as she stifled a yawn. "But right now, I'm tired and I think it's best if we get some sleep. I don't want to oversleep tomorrow."

"No, that wouldn't be good," Auden agreed as she snuggled under the covers of her own bed. Soon after, she was drifting off to sleep, thinking she was going to really enjoy being here at Hogwarts.


	5. Chapter 4: Bludgers, Dogs, and Trolls

The next morning, Auden woke up earlier than she normally did. It probably had to do with the anticipation of her first day of classes. She looked around and saw that she was the only one awake, but she couldn't possibly fall asleep again now. She got up, dressed, and went down to the common room, which was empty. Auden decided to wait for Harry and Ron to come downstairs, so she walked around the common room taking everything in. She hadn't gotten the opportunity to do it the night before. When Harry and Ron finally came downstairs, the three of them walked to the great hall together for breakfast.

They took seats at the Gryffindor table and started eating. About halfway through, Ron looked up excitedly. "Look, the mails here!" he cried, pointing upwards. Hundreds of owls were flying into the room with mail. One owl dropped a newspaper in front of Ron. "Gringotts was broken into yesterday!" he cried after a minute of reading.

"What?" exclaimed Auden and Harry.

Ron read from the article that someone had tried to steal something from a vault that had actually been emptied that same day, so nothing had been stolen. Auden and Harry were silent. Even Hermione, who had joined them at the table, tilted her head closer to listen.

"That's one of the vaults Hagrid and I went to," Harry whispered. "Hagrid wouldn't tell me what he took out. He said it was a secret."

As odd as that was and as much as the three of them wanted to discuss it further, they didn't get a chance to, because Professor McGonagall was passing out schedules. Ron, Harry, and Auden immediately compared theirs to find out they were all in the same classes, which was a huge relief. At least Auden would have two friends in her classes right off the bat.

"Our first one starts in twenty minutes. We should go," Harry said. Ron and Auden agreed, and the three of them headed out of the great hall.

"Do either of you by any chance know how to actually _get_ to Transfiguration?" Ron asked.

"Not a clue," Auden said as Harry slowly shook his head.

"Off to a good start, then," Ron said in a mock-chipper tone.

Auden laughed. "I'd say so, too," she answered.

* * *

By the end of the day, Auden was exhausted. She loved all her classes except History of Magic, which was terribly boring and dull. Auden had started off paying attention before zoning out fifteen minutes in and playing tic tac toe with Ron and Harry, which got them some eyebrow raises from Hermione.

Potions class wasn't that great either. Professor Snape was always less friendly to the Gryffindors, but particularly to Harry. Auden decided right away that she would just have to lay low and avoid Snape as much as possible.

She also had experienced her first official flying class that afternoon. She already knew the basics of flying but this class would teach them more and it was also required for first years. Neville ended up breaking his wrist, though, and while Madame Hooch was bringing him to the hospital wing, Draco Malfoy picked up Neville's fallen Remembrall and flew into the air with it.

Sighing, Harry began to mount his broom, but Hermione stopped him. "Harry, no, you heard Madame Hooch. You'll be expelled if you get caught."

Harry ignored her. Instead, he pushed off the ground and flew towards Malfoy. "Give it here," he said, holding out his hand.

"No. I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about on the roof?" Malfoy smirked.

"Give it here, Malfoy, or I'll knock you off your broom!"

"Pretty ambitious for someone who's never flown before, isn't he?" Auden whispered to Ron, who nodded.

Malfoy smirked wider and threw the Remembrall high into the air before landing safely on the ground. Harry, however, dived after the glass object.

"He's going to kill himself," Auden hissed, digging her fingernails into Ron's arm.

"No, he's not!" Ron cried as Harry pulled out of the dive at the last second, the Remembrall in his hand.

The entire class, minus the Slytherins, began clapping wildly as Harry ran towards them. They fell silent, however, when Professor McGonagall appeared.

"Harry Potter. Follow me, please," she said seriously.

"That's not good," Ron whispered as Harry glumly followed the Transfiguration teacher into the castle.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle began snickering to themselves and Auden shot them a look. She had to agree with Ron, though. Things certainly didn't look good for Harry right now.

"Maybe if we follow them and explain what Malfoy did, McGonagall will listen," she whispered as the class made their way back to the castle.

"We don't have any proof," Ron answered. "She wouldn't believe us."

"But if all three of us tell her the same story-"

"She knows we're friends. She'd just think we're trying to cover for him."

"But we are, and it's actually the truth!" Auden exlaimed. She let out a puff of air and crossed her arms. "It's not fair."

"I guess the only thing we can do is wait in the common room for him to come back."

"_If_ he comes back," Auden sighed.

* * *

"Where do you suppose he is? You don't think he _did_ get expelled do you?" Ron asked Auden as they sat in chairs by the common room fire later on.

"I hope not," answered Auden. "I'm almost sure if he explains what Malfoy did, he _can't_ get into too much trouble."

Just then, Harry came into the common room, out of breath.

"You're alive!" Ron joked. "What happened?"

"Are you expelled?"

"No, I didn't get into any trouble at all. Instead, I got put on the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Harry answered slowly. "McGonagall said I was being made Seeker."

"You're kidding! Nobody gets on the team in their first year," Auden exclaimed.

"You must be the youngest Quidditch player in-"

"A century," Harry nodded. "Anyway, McGonagall had Oliver Wood take me out to the Quidditch pitch and explain the rules of the game. That's why I was gone for so long."

"Hey, Harry, congrats on making the team," said a voice. It was George. Fred was right behind him. "Fred and I are on the team too as Beaters. We beat the Bludgers out of the way." George mimed hitting a Bludger with a bat.

"I wish I was on the team," Auden complained. "But I have to wait until next year."

"Try out, then," Fred said. "You'll make it. Plus, Alicia's leaving, so there's an open Chaser position. I believe it has your name on it."

"Oh, come on, stop it," Auden said, punching him playfully.

"I've seen you fly. You're pretty good," Fred told her. "Not that good, though," Fred continued with a smirk as Auden just glared at him.

"You just said I had a chance at making the team! So am I good enough or not?"

"Of course you're good enough," Fred answered. "Try out, I'm serious."

"We'll see," Auden answered with a smile.

The twins said goodnight then and disappeared up to their dormitories.

"So, when do you start joining practices?" Ron asked Harry.

"Next week," Harry answered, sitting down.

"I can't wait to come watch your first match," Auden said excitedly, taking her seat again and pulling her knees to her chest. She had never seen an actual Quiddich match before. All she had seen were the informal ones she had played at the Burrow.

"Forget that," Ron said. "I can't wait to see Malfoy's face tomorrow! You should have seen him when McGonagall came to get you, Harry. He looked so bloody proud of himself."

"Language, Ron," Auden giggled. She smiled at Harry. "Ron has quite the potty mouth."

"I've noticed," Harry smirked.

"His mother's threatened to wash his mouth out with soap a few times," Auden said, grinning.

"Well, Malfoy's worth using curse words for," Ron said defiantly.

"Agreed," Auden and Harry said together.

The next morning, Malfoy looked positively shocked that Harry hadn't been expelled. It was satisfying for a little while, but naturally, the git couldn't keep his mouth shut. He challenged Harry to a duel that Ron hastily accepted before Harry could answer. Although, Auden got the feeling that Harry wouldn't have declined anyway.

"Tonight at eleven sharp, then," Malfoy sneered before turning on his heel and marching away.

"You know, I don't even know how to duel," Harry said.

"It's alright," Ron shrugged. "Malfoy doesn't know any more magic than you do. He can't do much. Besides, you could always forget magic and punch him in the nose."

"That could work," Auden agreed. "By the way, I'm coming with you. This is something I can't miss."

That night, Auden, Harry and Ron waited until ten-thirty before getting ready to leave. Before they could make it out of the portrait hole, however, Hermione appeared in the common room. "Where are you going?"

"Out," answered Ron. "Goodbye."

"You can't go out. You'll get in trouble and points will be taken away from Gryffindor."

"We'll risk it," Ron answered and he left the room with Harry and Auden. Hermione ran after them.

"Where is it that you need to be at 10:30 at night?" she asked.

"Class," said Harry sarcastically, trying to figure out which way to go. Naturally, Hermione didn't buy it.

"We're going to get in trouble, and expelled, and we're going to end up homeless on the streets of London," she said, wringing her hands.

"We're definitely going to get caught if you keep talking," Ron whispered. "Besides, nobody asked you to come. If you're so worried, go back into the common room."

"Fine!" Hermione exclaimed, turning to do as Ron had suggested. But it was then that all four of them noticed that she couldn't go back inside. The fat lady wasn't in her portrait.

"She must have gone to visit that friend of hers," Auden said, shrugging. "Looks as if you're stuck with us, Hermione. Sorry."

Hermione let out a puff of air and crossed her arms as she reluctantly followed Auden, Ron and Harry down the hallway. About thirty seconds later, they ran into Neville, who was curled up on the floor, practically in tears.

"I forgot the password," he sniffed, when he saw them approach. "I was waiting for someone to come out, but nobody came until now."

"Well, you can't go back in because the fat lady's gone visiting her friend," Hermione said, pursing her lips. "I'm really sorry, Neville, but you're going to have to come with us. I really hope we don't get caught because that would mean Neville and I, two innoccent bystanders, would get punished as well."

"Don't say anything," Auden whispered to Ron as he opened his mouth to respond. "You're only going to let yourself get mad and that won't be good for anyone."

Hermione and Neville followed them all the way to the empty classroom, Hermione piping up every few minutes to express her disagreement. "Harry, do you even know how to duel?" she asked as they entered the classroom.

"No, I'm winging it," he answered.

"Wow, good plan," Hermione said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Eleven o'clock came and went with no Malfoy. Just as they were about to give up and go back to the common room, they heard a noise in the next room followed by a raspy voice. It was Filch, talking to Mrs. Norris.

"Run," whispered Harry.

They ran without any idea where they were going. They just wanted to get away from Filch. Eventually they picked a door and ran through it.

"Does anyone know where we are?" asked Harry as they all tried to catch their breath.

"Erm, I bet I can guess…the third floor corridor," Auden whispered, staring further into the room.

The others soon saw what she was looking at. A huge dog was standing there. It easily filled the room from floor to ceiling and made Hagrid look like a dwarf. The worst part was that the dog had three heads. Neville whimpered and hid behind Auden as the dog bared its three sets of teeth at them. Suddenly, it started barking madly. The five of them screamed and raced back to the common room as fast as they could go, stumbling over their own feet a few times in their hurry.

"Dumbledore…is…mental!" Ron panted as they ran into the cozy, safe common room. "What is he doing keeping that thing stored inside a school?"

"You obviously didn't notice the trapdoor it was standing on," Hermione said in a matter of fact tone.

"No, sorry, I was too busy looking at its heads!"

"The dog is there for a reason. It's guarding something. Now, I'm going to bed before any of you can come up with another reason to get us killed, or worse, expelled!"

Auden looked at Neville, Harry and Ron and blinked a few times. She hadn't noticed a trap door, either and she was totally with Ron on this one. How could she have possibly focused on the floor when a three headed dog had practically just ate her?

"She needs to sort out her priorities," Ron finally muttered.

"Agreed," Auden said with a laugh. She said goodnight to the three boys before heading up the stiars to her dormitory.

"I don't know what I was thinking, following you three," Hermione said angrily, the moment Auden had entered the room. She climbed into her bed and let out a puff of air as she pulled her knees to her chest. "I don't know what you were thinking either. I thought you cared about rules. I know you care about your grades. I've seen you studying. Why don't you care about getting in trouble?"

"I do," answered Auden as she headed for the bathroom to change into her pajamas. "Obviously I don't want to get in trouble or expelled," she said, continuting the conversation from the bathroom, "but I've grown up with Ron and his family. I've grown up with _Fred and George_. I guess I've learned to take risks and be spontaneous. It can be fun. I don't know any other way to explain it."

"I still don't think we should have snuck out like that," Hermione said.

"Maybe not, but it _was_ fun," Auden shrugged, exiting the bathroom and climbing into her own bed.

"Well, I certainly don't think so," Hermione sniffed.

A week later, it was Halloween. The first year Gryffindors had Charms that morning and Hermione had told Ron that he was doing the spell wrong. Auden had to giggle at Ron's annoyed expression, leading to him glaring at her. Later, on the way to dinner, Ron was angrily venting to Auden and Harry about Hermione being a bossy know it all. She heard him and ran to the girl's bathroom in tears.

"I'll go after her," Auden sighed. When she reached the bathroom, she stood at the doorway and sighed again. "Hermione?"

"Go away," Hermione answered from one of the middle stalls.

"No," Auden said simply. "Don't cry, Hermione. I know Ron can be harsh but he's not all bad. He was just…venting. He does that a lot when he's angry. He vents and says things he doesn't mean."

"He _did_ mean what he said! He hates me!"

"He doesn't hate you."

"He does! He's rude and hurtful!" Hermione sobbed. "It's so hard for me to be here! My parents are both Muggles. I wasn't born knowing magic like you and him. That's why I studied so much ahead of time and keep studying now. I want to fit in. I told you on our first night here how much I wanted to fit in. I'm trying to do that in the only way I know how and it isn't working!"

"Listen, it isn't a bad thing that you're smart," Auden said. "Ron can make it sound bad. Anyone can for that matter, but really, it'll come in handy in the future. Ron'll be eating his words. Please come out of the stall. We can go to the feast together."

Hermione was silent and Auden knew she almost had her convinced to leave the bathroom.

"Come on, Hermione. Please?" Auden pleaded. "I heard it's a really great feast."

"Oh, alright," Hermione sniffed, unlocking the door.

Auden smiled, but just as they were about to leave, there was the sound of large, thumping footsteps, and a troll appeared in the doorway to the bathroom.

The two girls froze. "Hermione?" Auden squeaked. "You didn't happen to read a book on how to get rid of trolls, did you?"

"No," Hermione whispered as they backed up a few steps.

The troll swung its club and the girls dived out of the way as the wooden stalls came crashing down. Auden lifted her head to see Harry and Ron appear in the doorway behind the troll. "Help, do something!" she cried.

Harry began throwing debris at the troll to no avail. It was as if the troll didn't even feel anything. He continued trying to hit Hermione and Auden with his club as they continued to dodge it.

Suddenly, Ron perked up as if he had gotten an idea. He raised his wand and stared intently at the troll's club.

"Swish and flick!" Hermione reminded Ron, seeming to know exactly what he was thinking.

"It's 'levi_-o_-sa, not levi-o-_sa_," Auden added, managing a small smile.

Ron took a deep breath. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he yelled, moving his wand. The troll's club flew into the air, and smashed back down on the troll's head, knocking him out.

"Well then," Auden said, standing up and taking a deep breath. "Thanks for saving us."

"No problem," answered Harry, looking stunned at what had just happened.

"I think you two just earned your sorting into Gryffindor," Auden said with a tiny laugh. Wait until Fred and George heard the news. She wondered how they'd react when they found out she actually did come face to face with a troll.

Just then Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Quirrell appeared in the doorway to the bathroom.

"Explain yourselves!" McGonagall gasped.

"Well, you see—," Harry and Ron stuttered. "We were—it was-."

"It was my fault," Hermione spoke up.

"Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I went looking for the troll. I read about them and thought I could handle it." She glanced at Auden, who fought back a smile. "Auden came to warn me that it was a stupid idea, but the troll trapped us both in here. If it wasn't for Harry and Ron, we would have been dead."

"Miss Granger, I really thought you had better sense than that. Five points will be taken from Gryffindor. As for you two," she gestured to Harry and Ron, "five points will be awarded each…for sheer dumb luck."

Harry and Ron exchanged gleeful looks. None of them had been expecting to actually _earn_ house points from doing this. As they walked back to the common room, Hermione glanced at Ron and Harry. "Thank you for saving us," she whispered.

"No…thank _you_," Harry said.

"Besides, what are friends for?" Ron added.

Auden met their eyes and grinned. Later, as she and Hermione were crawling into bed, Hermione looked over at Auden, looking as if she had something to say.

"What?" Auden asked, laughing.

"You were right," Hermione said quickly. "Ron's not all that bad."

Auden just smiled. Ever since that day, Hermione was their friend, and was rarely seen out of their presence. For lack of a less corny term, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

**A/N: So I know Alicia technically shouldn't be leaving after this year, but I changed it for the sake of the story so hopefully nobody minds too much.**

**To everyone celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope you all have a good holiday! :) Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 5: The Stone

The next morning, Ben cornered Auden at breakfast, an annoyed frown on his face.

"What's wrong, Benny?" Auden asked casually, pouring milk into her cereal.

"You _know_ what's bloody wrong," he said sternly.

"Language," she reminded him. "Is that any way to speak in front of an eleven year old?" She looked up at Ben, who scowled. "Why don't you sit down?"

"Why don't _you_ tell me what possessed you to go looking for a _mountain troll_ last night?" Ben hissed, ignoring her request to sit.

"Brilliant story, isn't it?" Fred and George asked, taking seats beside Auden. "Really, Aud, when I told you you'd have to fight a troll to be sorted, I didn't think you'd actually end up _doing_ it."

"You know me," Auden said with a smile. "I just had to prove to you that no matter what you said, it didn't scare me."

"_Auden_," Ben said, crossing his arms. "You didn't answer my question. Why in the world would you go looking for that troll?"

"I didn't go _looking_ for it," Auden replied, turning back to face her livid brother. "Hermione was crying in the bathroom and I was trying to get her to come to the feast, but someone let the troll into the castle and it cornered us. I'm fine, Ben, really."

"I'm supposed to be looking out for you. You've been here two months and you're already nearly getting yourself killed."

"Honestly, I'm surprised it took two months. I was expecting something like this to happen in two _days_," Auden answered calmly as Fred and George laughed into their cereal.

"Auden, this isn't _funny_," Ben said.

"Relax, Ben," Fred said. "You're beginning to sound like Percy. Auden said she was fine, and she looks fine to me, so quit nagging her."

"You aren't her older brothers," Ben said. "Like I said, I'm supposed to make sure she doesn't get herself killed."

"We care about Auden, too," George said, "but like Fred said, she said she's fine and she looks fine. In fact, she looks wonderful. Smashing, really. Better than ever."

"Simply ravishing," Fred added.

"Stunning," George said.

"She's blinding me," Fred continued, shielding his eyes as Auden giggled.

"Knock it off," Ben said, but he was cracking a smile.

"Ben, I appreciate your concern," Auden said. She stood up and wrapped her arms around her brother. "But I'm fine, really."

"Just promise me you'll stay out of trouble," Ben said, holding her by the shoulders out in front of him.

"Well I can certainly _try_," Auden smiled.

"Auden-," Ben began.

"She said she'll try, Ben, what more do you want?" Fred asked. "Now sit down and eat before you kill yourself with worry."

"Or turn into Percy. One of the two," George shrugged.

"Seriously, you hang around him too much," Fred said.

"He's in all of my classes," Ben laughed, sitting down. "What do you want me to do?"

"Drop out of school," Fred said.

"Or kick Percy out. Whichever you prefer."

"Or just pretend you don't know him," Fred continued. "That's what George and I like to do."

"He is your brother," Auden said.

"We have a theory that he's adopted," George said.

"That would be an excellent theory but there's that whole issue that he has red hair, freckles, and your dad's eyes," Auden giggled.

"There are other people with red hair and freckles," Fred said. "As for him having dad's eyes…." He shrugged. "We're putting our money on a coincidence."

"Good explanation," Auden said, managing to keep a straight face.

"We know," the twins answered together. "Hold the applause, please."

Auden giggled and ate another spoonful of her cereal.

* * *

"So what if that package Hagrid took from the vault at the bank is what that dog is guarding?" Harry asked one day at breakfast a few weeks later. Ever since the incident with the three headed dog, and ever since Hermione had mentioned the trap door, he had been incredibly interested in the theory that the dog was guarding something. "I mean, he told me it was top secret Hogwart's business, so it makes sense that it's what the dog's guarding."

"You could be right," Hermione said from behind her newspaper. "In that case, we need to talk to Hagrid."

"I also noticed something else," Harry continued. "Remember on Halloween when McGonagall came down to the bathroom with Snape? His leg was bleeding. He tried to get past the dog. I'll bet you anything that's what he was doing. He probably let the troll in as a distraction. He wants whatever is through that trapdoor."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked.

"It makes sense. The troll distracted everyone else so that he could try to get past the dog," Harry said.

Auden chewed on her lip. She supposed it did make sense, but they couldn't prove anything just yet. "Let's go see Hagrid at lunch and see what he says. Maybe he'll give us more information so we can figure this out."

At lunchtime, the four of them made their way to Hagrid's hut and knocked forcefully. Hagrid opened the door, looking thrilled that they had come to visit. He ushered them inside and offered them some tea.

"How are you, Hagrid?" Auden asked as they took seats at the table. Fang rested his head in Auden's lap, drooling all over her robes. She scratched the top of his head absentmindedly.

"Fine, fine. I'm glad yeh came ter visit," Hagrid said, pouring them all tea.

"We actually had a question for you," Harry said seriously. "What was in the package that you took out of the vault at Gringott's?"

Hagrid froze and almost dropped the teapot. "I can't say, Harry, I'm sorry. It's Dumbledore's business. Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

"Who's Nicholas Flamel?" asked Auden.

"Er, pretend yeh didn't hear that," Hagrid said, with a guilty look on his face.

"Whatever's under the trapdoor that the three headed dog is guarding, well, Snape is trying to steal it," Ron blurted.

"Snape's tryin' ter—wait a minute. How do yeh know about Fluffy?" asked Hagrid in shock.

"That _thing_ has a name?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, Fluffy, er….yeah…." Hagrid trailed off and cleared his throat.

"Oh, yeah, real fluffy alright," Ron mumbled.

"This isn't your business," Hagrid scolded. "Don't ask me anymore about it."

Two days later, it was Saturday, and all thoughts of Fluffy and the trapdoor seemed to be gone from Harry's mind. It was the day of his first Quidditch match. Auden, Ron, and Hermione walked with Harry to the changing rooms to keep him company before they headed off to find seats in the stands.

"Good luck Harry, you'll be a great Seeker," Auden said, giving him a big hug. "I'm sure you'll help Gryffindor win."

"What are we, yesterday's leftovers?" Fred asked, coming up behind them.

"Of course not, but neither of you are Seekers. I have no doubt that you'll be great Beaters, though." She smirked. "Why, do Freddie and Georgie need hugs too?" She opened her arms wide and grinned.

"On second thought…" began Fred, and then he started running around through the grass, George next to him and Auden hot on their heels.

"Hey, Harry, let's get you inside and changed," Oliver Wood said as he opened the changing room door. "Fred, George, you two get in here as well. You're too old to think girls have cooties."

Fred and George stopped running and allowed Auden to hug them and wish them luck before they disappeared into the changing room. Ron, Hermione and Auden made their way to their seats. Eventually, the two teams, Gryffindor and Slytherin, flew onto the field. Auden cheered with the rest of the Gryffindor fans. Alicia, Katie, and Angelina each scored a goal within 20 minutes, making the score 30-0. During the next 10 minutes, however, Slytherin scored two goals. They were catching up.

"Oh, I hope Harry gets the snitch soon," Auden said, twisting the ring on her finger as she grew more and more nervous.

"He won't if he keeps that up," said Hermione, pointing.

Sure enough, Harry's broom was jerking all over the place and Harry was about to fall. Gasps were audible in the crowd.

"Snape! Look at Snape!" yelled Ron.

Auden and Hermione looked. Snape's lips were moving and he was staring at Harry's broom.

Hermione dashed off suddenly without a word, while Ron and Auden looked back at Harry, still flying around without any control of his broom. A few minutes later, Hermione returned, breathless as she tucked her wanad back inside her cloak.

"What did you do?" Auden asked when Hermione returned. Harry's broom had stopped acting up and he had managed to climb back on.

"I took care of it," Hermione answered vaguely, shaking her head.

Minutes later, Harry spotted the snitch and dashed after it. He leaned forward to grab it, but maybe a little too far forward because he toppled forwards off the broom. He stood up and began gagging. Auden grabbed Ron's arm. "He's going to puke!"

Harry did not puke, however. Instead, the small, golden snitch flew out of his mouth and into his hand.

Most of the crowd cheered. The only people not cheering were the Slytherins. Malfoy in particular looked especially annoyed and that made Gryffindor's victory that much better.

* * *

By the time the Christmas holidays came around, Auden, Harry, Hermione and Ron had tired themselves out looking through books for Nicolas Flamel. They couldn't seem to find him anywhere, no matter how hard they looked.

A few days before Christmas, on the first day of break, Harry, Ron and Auden were sitting in the Great Hall. Harry and Ron were playing wizard's chess while Auden watched. It definitely felt good to take a break from schoolwork and also from looking for Nicholas Flamel. Auden was almost sick of that one name constantly floating through her brain.

"Why don't you-," she began, trying to give Harry some advice.

"Don't!" Ron said. "That's cheating!"

"Oh, please, you'd most likely win anyway," Auden scoffed, sitting back in her seat. She looked at Harry. "He's just too good. Playing against him gets boring after a while. I would know. I'm the only one who had enough patience to play against him time and time again. Everyone else got sick of it. But now it looks as if he has a new victim." She smirked. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Harry groaned.

Just then, Hermione approached them, dragging her trunk. She was going home to spend Christmas with her parents.

"See you've packed," Ron said.

"See you've haven't."

"Auden and I aren't going home anymore," Ron shrugged. "My parents are going to visit my brother Charlie in Romania and bringing Ginny with them, so the rest of us are staying here."

"Good. You can help Harry, then. He's going to spend some time in the library looking for Nicolas Flamel."

"We've looked a hundred times!" Ron exclaimed as Auden groaned. She had thought she could get through Christmas without having to do more research, but apparently Hermione was having other ideas.

"Not in the Restricted Section, you haven't," Hermione said. "Happy Christmas." With that, she grabbed her trunk and walked away.

"I think we've been a bad influence on her," Ron whispered.

"She is right, though. The Restricted Section is the only place we haven't looked," Auden sighed, resting her head on the table.

"Yeah, but we need a note to get in there," Ron said. "It'll be difficult to come up with an excuse to get one."

Auden sighed. "I'm sure we'll think of something. We'll have to, or I get the feeling Hermione will give us a lecture when she gets back."

"I wouldn't put it past her," Ron said, grinning as he made the move that won him the chess game.

* * *

When Christmas day rolled around, Auden woke up to find a stack of presents at the end of her bed. She smiled as she tore open gifts from Ben, her parents, Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Fred and George also sent her a gift—a collection of Zonko's joke products. She smiled, glad they had thought of her on their first Hogsmeade trip at the beginning of the year. She also received a sweater from Mrs. Weasley as usual. She slipped it over her head and tugged the sleeves down over her hands before hurrying into Ron and Harry's dorm. The two boys were busy opening gifts. They had both received Weasley sweaters as well. Harry was wearing his already. It was bright red, like Auden's. Ron's was lying on his bed. Auden smirked upon seeing that it was maroon. Ron hated maroon, and yet, he received a maroon sweater every year.

"Happy Christmas," Auden said, sitting down on Harry's bed.

"Happy Christmas," they said together.

"Where are Neville, Dean and Seamus?" Auden asked.

"Already at breakfast," Ron muttered. "The three of them tore through their gifts already. And I thought _I_ was always over eager on Christmas."

"Thanks for the Chocolate Frogs, Aud," Harry said, holding them up.

"You're welcome. I figured I'd help you out with your card collection. This way, you can start catching up to Ron." She pointed to the last gift in Harry's pile. "Who's that from?"

"I don't know," Harry said, picking it up. He unwrapped it to reveal an odd looking cloak.

"I know what that is!" Ron gasped, setting down his Every Flavor Beans and staring at Harry. "That's an invisibility cloak!"

"Put it on, Harry!" Auden urged.

Harry stood up and slipped the cloak over his shoulders. Instantly, he became a floating head.

"Wicked," Ron whispered.

"A note fell out," Auden said, bending down and picking the note up off the floor. She handed it to Harry. His hand appeared in mid-air and closed around the note. Auden and Ron peered over his shoulders to read it.

"'Your father left this in my possession before he died. Use it well'," Harry read. "There's no signature."

"Use it well," Auden repeated smirking. "I think we just figured out how we're going to get into the Restricted Section of the library."

Ron groaned. "You're starting to sound like Hermione. Harry gets an _invisibility_ cloak for Christmas—the possibilities are endless, mind you—and you want to use it to go read books!"

Auden narrowed her eyes at him. "_Hermione_, I think, would insist we get a note from a teacher like the rules clearly state. She would _not_ approve of sneaking around in an invisibility cloak. Honestly, Ron, it's as if you don't know her at all."

"Well, I'm glad _you_ do then," Ron said, plunking down on his bed again.

"Honestly, Ron, I think she sounds more like Fred and George," Harry smirked, slipping the cloak off and running the fabric through his fingers.

"Who's sounding like us?" The twins barged into the room just then, already dressed and looking cheerful. Harry stuffed the invisibility cloak under his pillow to hide it.

"Auden, apparently," Ron replied.

Fred and George beamed. "Ah," Fred said, grabbing Auden into a headlock. "We're so proud. It means we've taught you well."

"Yeah, so can you spare putting me in a headlock for once?" Auden asked, trying to pry Fred's arms off of her.

Fred chuckled. "Of course. We wouldn't want to ruin your hair or wrinkle your Weasley sweater." He released her and haphazardly tried to fix her hair. Auden rolled her eyes andgently swatted his hand away.

"I'll fix it myself," she sighed.

"Hey, look, Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!" Fred said, spotting what Harry was wearing. The twins were wearing their sweaters already as well—both blue, but one with a yellow 'F', while the other had a yellow 'G.'

"Still switching sweaters?" Auden asked with a smirk, noticing Fred was wearing the sweater with a 'G' on it.

"As we've been every year," Fred replied, winking at her. He turned to Harry. "Yours is better than ours, though, Harry. Clearly, Mum puts more work in if you aren't family."

"What are you talking about?" Auden asked. "Yours are fine. They're all great, and personally, I love mine…as always."

"Of course you do," Fred sighed. "Ever the perfect child."

"Shut up," Auden muttered, giving him a shove. Fred grabbed her wrists and spun her around, pulling her to him and keeping her wrists pressed against her stomach.

"Nice try," he laughed in her ear as she tried to pull herself away. Eventually, she gave up and relaxed against him with a huff.

"Why aren't you wearing your sweater, Ron?" George asked. "Come on, put it on, they're lovely and warm."

"I hate maroon," Ron muttered, pulling the sweater over his head.

"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But Fred and I aren't stupid. We know we're called Gred and Forge."

"What's going on in here?" Percy stuck his head into the room, his own Weasley sweater dangling over his arm.

"Ah, Percy!" Fred exclaimed. He let go of Auden and grabbed Percy's sweater off of his arm, holding it up. "P for Prefect! Come on, Percy, put it on. We're all wearing ours. Even Harry got one." He and George began forcing the sweater over Percy's head.

"No, come on, stop," Percy protested, trying to fight the twins off. He was unsuccessful, though. Fred finally managed to pull Percy's right arm through the sweater's armhole as George handled his left arm.

"You're not sitting with the other prefects today, either, Perce," George said. "Christmas is a time for family."

Auden held back her laughter as Fred and George marched Percy from the room. Fred threw a wink at her over his shoulder before shouting, "See you at dinner," and closing the door behind him.

* * *

"I found it!" Hermione hissed excitedly, practically running down the dormitory stairs and skidding to a stop in front of Auden, Ron and Harry. It was months later, and almost the end of the year. Auden was lounging on the couch, watching Harry and Ron cram to finish all the homework they had procrastinated on.

"Found what?" Harry asked, looking up.

"Nicolas Flamel, that's who! This book says he is the only known owner and creator of the Sorcerer's Stone, which can produce the Elixir of Life! It makes the owner immortal!"

"No way!" exclaimed Auden.

"Wicked," added Ron.

"So that means…" began Harry.

"The dog is guarding the stone," Hermione finished.

"And Snape wants it, because, well who wouldn't want it?" added Ron. "Wow, immortal!"

"We have to tell Dumbledore…tomorrow!" said Harry.

The next day, right after their first class, Auden, Ron, Harry, and Hermione raced to McGonagall's office and asked to see Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore left this morning very early," she said. "I'm sure you can wait until tomorrow."

"No, we know about the Sorcerer's Stone!" Ron cried in frustration.

Professor McGonagall looked up. "What did you say?"

"The stone! Someone wants to steal it," Harry told her.

"Nonsense," Professor McGonagall laughed. "It is strongly protected by enchantments. Now, run along and enjoy the sunshine."

Realizing they were getting nowhere with McGonagall, the three of them left her office. They immediately ran into Hagrid.

"Hello, you four!" he greeted them.

"Hagrid! Does anyone else know about Fluffy?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Just me, Dumbledore and this man I met in Hogsmeade. He was wearing a hood, but seemed interested in Fluffy so I told him all he had to do was play him a bit of music and Fluffy goes right to sleep. Oh, I probably shouldn't have said that," Hagrid sighed as the four students ran off.

They ran back to Gryffindor tower, where Harry grabbed the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas and also his invisibility cloak. Then, the four of them headed for the third floor. They had silently agreed on one thing: they were going down the trapdoor that night.


	7. Chapter 6: Survival

At exactly ten o'clock that night, Auden found herself sneaking out of the common room with Harry, Ron and Hermione and making her way to the third floor corridor. When they got there, Harry stepped out into the room and began playing the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. Fluffy fell right to sleep, just like Hagrid had said he would.

"Alright, who's going to jump first?" asked Ron once the trap door was open.

Harry signaled to them that he'd go first. He quickly handed the flute to Hermione, who began to play it. Fluffy twitched, but didn't wake up.

"I'll let you know if it's safe to come down," Harry said. "If it's not, get yourselves out immediately." When Auden and Hermione nodded, Harry paused before jumping into the darkness. Auden followed and so did Hermione and finally Ron.

The events that happened after that were almost a complete blur.

They landed on something soft, and Auden was relieved for about a split second before she realized that the 'something soft' was a plant that was starting to wind tightly around her body. She wasn't going to lie, she was scared. She was uncomfortable and she could barely breathe. If they didn't figure out how to escape soon, they were all going to die.

"Get this off me!" Ron said, thrashing around in an attempt to break free.

"No, don't move, Ron," Hermione ordered, sitting completely still. "It's Devil's Snare. You have to relax. If you fight it, it'll only kill you faster!"

"Kill us faster? Oh, now I can relax!" Ron cried, continuing to thrash around.

Auden noticed that the plant's tentacles had released Hermione, who was now standing up and making her way across the room to investigate how to move on. Auden shared a look with Harry and they both stilled their movements in an attempt to get the plant off of them. It worked. The tentacles loosened and slithered away, releasing Harry and Auden from their grip. The two of them immediately stood up and turned to face Ron, who was still fighting the plant.

"It's Devil's Snare," Hermione sighed, coming up beside Harry and Auden. "And the more Ron panics, the faster it'll choke him to death."

"It's almost at his neck, Hermione," Auden said, chewing her lip, "and he's not relaxing. There has to be another way to get it off him."

"Yes, there has to be," Hermione muttered, chewing on the inside of her cheek in thought.

"You might want to think fast," Auden said, her voice slightly panicked. "We don't have a lot of time."

"I've got it! Professor Sprout mentioned this ages ago in class! Devil's Snare hates sunlight!" Immediately, she aimed her wand at Ron, shooting a beam of light out of the tip. The tentacles automatically released him, retracting as quickly as they had appeared.

"Well," Ron said, letting out a puff of air as he stood up and looked around, "lucky we didn't panic."

"Lucky Hermione pays attention in Herbology," Harry said, causing Ron to look at the ground in embarrassment.

After a moment of searching, Hermione located a door that lead to the next room, which was filled with flying keys. Ron spotted one that was bent and beat up and Auden spotted the broom lying in the corner. It was obvious what they had to do, and Harry, being the strongest flyer out of the four of them, was able to catch the key within seconds. He didn't make it out completely unscathed, though. The other keys had been enchanted to attack him the moment he took off from the ground and they had scratched his face and hands pretty badly by the time he had caught the key they needed.

The next room was a life sized chess board. This was the room that stood out the most to Auden, because to her, it was the scariest. It wasn't the fact that the humongous chess pieces were staring down at her with their stony eyes, although that added to her anxiousness. The scariest part for Auden, was when, at the end of their game, Ron realized that he needed to sacrifice himself in order for them to win and proceed to the next room.

"Ron, don't do it!" Auden yelled, tears coming to her eyes. He was her best friend. What if he got killed?

Ron seemed to be pretending not to hear her. He seemed to be holding back tears as well, but he moved over a few squares.

It happened so fast. The queen piece moved towards Ron, holding up her sword. With a swishing sound, she cracked it down on Ron's head. Auden and Hermione both screamed but Harry was then able to make the move that won them the game. After that, they immediately ran for Ron.

"I think he'll be alright. Looks like he's just knocked out," Harry said, flipping Ron over. He looked up at Auden and Hermione. "Take him back to the castle. Bring him to the hospital wing. Then, find Dumbledore and tell him what happened. I need to stop Snape on my own, I know it."

"Harry, don't be ridiculous…" Auden told him, her face covered in dirt and tears.

"No, I'm serious. Do what I told you. I'll be fine."

Hermione flung herself at Harry and hugged him. "I know you will. You can do this. Come on, Auden, help me lift Ron."

Auden and Hermione lifted Ron and dragged him back the way they had come as Harry turned the other way and went through the next door.

* * *

Once Auden and Hermione had contacted Dumbledore and brought Ron to the hospital wing, Ben, Fred, and George barged in loudly.

"You…are…an idiot," Ben said, hugging Auden. He could barely talk.

"Hi, Ben," Auden whispered, returning the hug and pressing her cheek against her brother's chest.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked, holding her at arm's length and scanning her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened to Ron?" Ben asked, peering over Auden's shoulder at Ron, who was lying on the bed behind her.

"He was knocked out by a giant chess piece," Auden answered, "but he was brilliant. He won us the game and without him, we would've been toast."

"She's right," Hermione chimed in. "Ron was great."

"But now Harry's down there all by himself and I'm really worried. Hopefully Dumbledore will get to him in time, though. He should be on his way back to the school now," Auden said.

Ben shook his head and finally let go of her, giving Fred and George the opportunity to hug her as well.

"I just don't understand how you could have been so stupid, Aud," Ben finally said, rubbing a hand over his face and sitting down on the end of Ron's bed.

"The stone was in danger," Auden shrugged. "I wanted to help make sure it stayed safe."

"The stone?" Ben asked in confusion.

"Yeah, it basically makes the owner immortal," Auden said quickly.

"It's not your job to make sure it stayed safe, Aud," Ben told her.

"It shouldn't have been, but nobody would believe us when we told them Snape was trying to steal it."

"_Professor_ Snape, Miss Parker," said a voice from behind them.

Auden whirled around to see Professor Dumbledore standing in the doorway with a half smile on his face. He was levitating an unconscious Harry in front of him. "And," Dumbledore continued as he lowered Harry onto the bed beside Ron, "I think you'll be interested in the fact that it was _not_ Professor Snape who was after the stone at all."

"Who was it, then?" Hermione asked, blinking in surprise.

"Professor Quirrell," Dumbledore said calmly, turning towards them.

"_Quirrell_?" Auden asked. "Really?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Really. He was after the stone for Voldemort."

Fred and George flinched at the name, while Ben looked up at Dumbledore in confusion. "So this stone really was in danger?"

"It was, Mr. Parker," Dumbledore replied. "Your sister and her friends were onto something when they decided to go through that trapdoor in the third floor corridor. They may have broken some rules and put themselves in danger, but as it turns out, they did the right thing. When I got down there, Harry seemed to be handling Professor Quirrell and Voldemort fairly well on his own. All I really had to do was bring him back here."

"Did you say Quirrell _and _Voldemort?" Hermione squeaked.

"Yes, Miss Granger," Dumbledore nodded. "Voldemort isn't well enough to have his own body at this point. He's forced to share with other living things."

"Share? How?" Auden asked.

"Voldemort was on the back of Professor Quirrell's head, covered by his turban," Dumbledore explained.

His words were met with complete silence for a few seconds.

"So," Fred began slowly, "over the Christmas holidays when George and I were charming snowballs to hit the back of Quirrell's turban..."

"Yes, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said with a slight smile.

"Wicked," Fred and George said together, grinning at each other

Auden giggled before taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. "Harry will be okay, though, won't he? And Ron, too?"

"They'll both be fine," Dumbledore said, heading for the door. "Now, I'll leave you for a few minutes but I think you should head up to your dormitories shortly. Your friends won't be awake before tomorrow, so staying here all night won't do any good." With a smile, he said goodnight and left the room.

"You are okay, aren't you?" Fred asked Auden, turning to look at her.

"Perfectly fine," she answered.

"Good," he answered, nodding his head in satisfaction. He paused. "What else was down there besides the chess set?"

"And You-Know-Who apparently," George added.

"Well, after we made it past Fluffy the three headed dog," Auden began, "there was the Devil's Snare. Hermione knew how to get past that one, though and she remembered it hates sunlight so she was able to save Ron. He was panicking, and panic makes Devil's Snare react faster."

"Of course he was panicking," Fred sighed. He looked at Hermione. "Good thing you managed to remember that bit about the sunlight, though."

"That's what Harry said," Auden told him, smiling at Hermione, who smiled back and chimed in with the next part of the story.

"Then there was a room full of flying keys and a broomstick. Ron spotted the key we needed and Harry used the broom to catch it, but all the other keys attacked him in order to make it more difficult. And then the chess room was after that where Ron had to sacrifice himself in order for us to win and Harry to go on."

Fred let out a low whistle. "Wow."

Auden looked at her brother. "You're going to tell Mum and Dad what happened, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm sure they'd find out one way or another anyway," Ben shrugged. "But I think they should know, don't you?"

"I suppose so. Do you think they'll be angry?"

Ben was quiet for a moment. "Probably not too much. You're okay and mostly unharmed after all. Besides, apparently Dumbledore thinks you did the right thing despite the fact that it was dangerous and you broke rules."

"There you have it, Aud," George grinned. "Your parents _can't_ get mad if you tell them that."

Auden smiled. "That's a good point." She paused. "How did you three even find out what happened? Hermione and I had just gotten here when you came barreling in."

"You were missing most of the night," Ben piped up. "I knew Harry, Ron and Hermione weren't around, but I hoped you might have been with Fred and George. Once I found them and they said you weren't with them, we knew something was up. And then McGonagall came in and told us what had happened."

Auden nodded and looked back at Fred, who was staring down at Ron. "Why do you still look so scared, Fred?" she asked.

Fred tore his eyes away from an unconscious Ron to look at Auden. "Why do you think?" he whispered. "All that stuff that was down there...and _You-Know-Who_."

"I didn't actually see him," Auden said. "That was all Harry."

"But still," Fred whispered. "And Ron...even though he's going to be okay, I don't like seeing him unconscious."

Auden smirked. "So you _do_ care about your brother. How sweet."

"Not just him," Fred said, smiling. "You, too."

Auden fluttered her eyelashes. "Really? I'm flattered."

Fred grinned and tried to ruffle her hair, but she darted away, grinning.

Ben stood up, then and yawned as he rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I think it's time we got to bed," he said, stretching. He looked at Hermione and Auden. "You two have had quite the night. You must be tired."

"Very, now that you mention it," Hermione laughed.

Auden nodded. "Sleeping sounds wonderful right about now."

"Piggy back ride?" Fred asked Auden, sending her a half smile.

She grinned. "Sure."

Fred crouched down in front of her and she hopped on his back. She rested her cheek on his shoulder, loosely wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed contentedly.

"Comfortable?" Fred asked, turning his head to look at her as the group made their way towards the Gryffindor common room.

"Extremely, actually," she sighed, stifling a yawn. "Just as long as you don't drop me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Fred teased.

"You would," Auden said with a knowing smile. "You probably dream about it every night."

"How'd you guess?" Fred snorted.

Auden swatted the back of his head and giggled when Fred let out a tiny yelp. "What a baby. I know that didn't hurt."

"That's what you think," he responded.

Auden smiled and rested her cheek on his shoulder again, closing her eyes as she did so. That was the last thing she remembered before she fell asleep, right where she was on Fred's back.

* * *

On the day of the end of year feast, Auden, Ron and Hermione stood waiting in the entrance hall for Harry. Madame Pomfrey had said he'd be able to attend the feast and he was expected to come downstairs any minute.

"Where is he? Do you think Madame Pomfrey changed her mind?" Auden asked.

"No," Ron grinned, pointing over her shoulder. She spun around to see Harry coming down the stairs.

"How are you?" he asked them quietly.

"Fine," Auden said.

"Alright," Ron shrugged.

"Never better," Hermione grinned. "We're glad you could come to the feast, Harry."

"So am I, but..." He sighed. "They're all going to stare at me, aren't they?" He looked at the great hall doors.

"Most likely," Ron answered.

"Just ignore them," Hermione advised.

Harry nodded and the four of them went into the great hall together. People did stare at Harry. In fact, they stared at Ron, Hermione and Auden as well. News about what had happened the other night had traveled around the school at lightning speed and everyone seemed to know every detail, even the part about Quirrell and Voldemort. Auden could feel her cheeks turning red as she hurried to sit down at the Gryffindor table. Finally, once the feast began, everyone stopped staring so that they could eat and it was a huge relief.

Auden had entered the feast starving and by the end, she was stuffed. On top of it all, Gryffindor ended up winning the house cup due to some last minute points given by Professor Dumbledore. The best part about it was the horrified look on Malfoy's face at the news that Slytherin's win had been taken from right under their noses.

It was the end of Auden's first year of Hogwarts and she had survived it. She had survived the classes, the teachers, and everything else that comes with going to a new school. Auden couldn't believe how much had happened. She loved Hogwarts and her friends, but for now, she had a whole summer of nothing but relaxation until she could come back and experience it all again on September 1st.


	8. Chapter 7: Summer Adventures

Auden snapped her eyes open. It was still dark out, it was summer, and she didn't have anywhere to be, so why was she awake? _Tap. _Pause. _Tap._ That was why. She wondered what could possibly be at her window at this hour. It didn't sound like an owl. She sleepily got up to investigate, crossed her bedroom to the window, and opened it wide. She didn't see anything until she looked down. Fred, George, and Ron were standing outside, throwing rocks at her window.

"Hey, took you long enough to wake up!" called Fred.

"I'm sorry that I'm not nocturnal and that I was actually enjoying getting a good night's sleep," Auden answered, rubbing her eyes. "Anyway, what's up.…why are you here?"

"We're going on a rescue mission," Fred answered. "Now will you please get down here?"

"Hold on," Auden called down. She changed out of her pajamas and into a sweater and a pair of jeans before climbing out of her window and into the tree standing right outside. Once she was on the ground, she began following the three Weasley boys to their yard, practically jogging to keep up with them. Honestly, it was practically a Weasley boy tradition to grow several inches every year, which resulted in longer legs and bigger steps. "So, can you please elaborate on this rescue mission?" she asked.

"Harry hasn't answered a single one of my letters," Ron said. "He hasn't answered yours and he hasn't answered Hermione's. Something's wrong so we're rescuing him," Ron explained.

"I see," Auden said slowly, "but why are we doing this ourselves in the dead of night? Why don't you just tell your parents?"

"You've been hanging around Hermione too much," Fred joked. "This way is more fun. Plus, haven't you always wanted to go for a ride in our dad's flying car?"

"Seriously? We're taking the car?" Auden squealed, stopping in her tracks.

"Yeah, how else did you expect four underage wizards to travel to Harry's Muggle aunt and uncle's house?" Fred asked with a laugh.

"Well, not by using your dad's flying car, that's for sure," Auden responded. "Your mother doesn't exactly approve of your father tinkering around with it, so I doubt she'd be too happy if you actually flew it."

"She wouldn't be," George grinned, "but that's the most exciting part."

Auden sighed and grinned back. "I suppose you're right. And I _have_ always wanted to go for a ride."

"Exactly," Fred said, "now come on." He led the way across the remainder of the yard and over to the spot where the car was parked. The four of them climbed inside-Fred and George in the front and Auden in the back with Ron. Fred started the engine and it roared to life. The four of them froze and looked up at the Burrow for any sign that the noise had woken someone. Everything was quiet. Definitely a good sign.

"You know," Ron said as Fred slowly maneuvered the car to the edge of the yard, "Auden did have a point. If mum catches us, she'll cook us all for dinner."

"True, but who says she'll catch us?" asked George.

"Yeah, Ron, you can go back to bed if you want," Fred said, slowly pressing down on the brake to bring the car to a stop. "Last chance before we take off."

"No, I'm coming, Harry's _my_ friend!" Ron hissed.

"Then stop worrying," Auden said with a smile. "Even if we do get caught, your mum and my mum will be pretty mad at first, but it'll blow over. They'll look back and laugh one day."

Fred flew the car up into the air towards Harry's house. Auden leaned her head back against the seat and sighed happily. She loved doing things like this and it made it even better that she was with her best friends.

"Aud, you didn't fall asleep on us, did you?" asked Fred, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

"Of course not…I'm wide awake now thanks to you,"

"You're glad, though. I know you'd rather be here than sleeping," Fred replied.

"Obviously. I would have killed you if you went without me," Auden grinned. She paused. "You know, Fred, you're doing a wonderful job flying a car for the first time. I believe you're even following all the rules of air traffic. Impressive."

Fred rolled his eyes and grinned. "It's not that hard, though," he said after a moment. "It's actually probably a lot easier than driving on the road because there really _aren't_ any rules. You just have to watch out for birds and trees and that sort of thing."

"And being seen," Auden pointed out. "We wouldn't have to worry about that part on the road."

"Yeah, but it's nighttime," George said. "We don't have to worry about being seen now."

"Just because it's nighttime doesn't guarantee that we won't be seen," Auden said. "Maybe we should use that invisibility feature that your dad mentioned."

Fred shook his head. "No, we're fine, Aud. Just relax. Stop worrying. Weren't you the one telling Ron the same thing only a few minutes ago?"

"Yeah," Ron chimed in, sticking his tongue out at Auden, who returned the gesture.

Eventually, they arrived at 4 Privet Drive and were able to locate Harry's room right away by the bars that Vernon Dursley had installed across the bedroom window.

"Seriously? They put _bars_ on his window?" Auden asked. "That's completely ridiculous."

"Tell me about it," Fred muttered. He pulled up to the window and Ron knocked. Within seconds, Harry appeared.

"What are you guys doing here?" He looked totally shocked, but also completely excited to see them. Then again, Auden thought, he probably would have been excited to see even Malfoy at a time like this.

"Getting you out," Ron explained. "You haven't answered a single one of my letters."

"Or mine, or Hermione's," Auden added, leaning over Ron and grinning at Harry.

"You're staying at my house for the rest of the summer," Ron added. "Quick, get your stuff."

Harry heaved his trunk and owl cage to the window as Ron hooked a rope onto the bars. "Go, Fred, quickly," he ordered. Fred gunned the engine and the bars flew off with a crash. Fred reversed the car and Harry shoved his things out the window. Ron and Auden grabbed them and fit them into the backseat. Then, Ron grabbed Harry's arm right as the Dursley family barged into the room. They tried to grab Harry but he had flung himself into the car.

"That was close," Harry breathed as Fred quickly drove the car higher into the air and headed back to the Burrow.

There was silence in the car for a few seconds before Auden broke it. "Harry?

"Yeah, Auden?"

"I can't decide if your uncle looks more like a walrus or a giant tomato."

Harry let out a snort of laughter, which got everyone else laughing as well. When it had died down, Harry explained why he hadn't been answering any letters. As it turned out, a house elf named Dobby had intercepted them all and then had showed up at Harry's house telling him to not go back to Hogwarts. Dobby had even done magic, which had set off Harry's Trace and he had received a letter from the Ministry giving him a warning to not use magic outside of school again.

"A house elf? A house elf came to warn you not to go back to school?" Ron asked.

"Sounds fishy," Fred frowned.

"Do you think it's some kind of sick joke?" Auden asked. She had never heard of a house elf going to someone's house before to warn them to not go back to school. Come to think of it, she hadn't even heard of a _human _warning another person to not go back to school. Hogwarts was supposed to be safe. Then again, a ton of not so safe events had occured the year before and Auden had somehow found herself in the midst of all of them.

Harry shrugged in response to Auden's question. "I don't know. Who would want to play that kind of joke on me?"

"Anyone at school have a grudge against you?" George asked.

"Malfoy," Ron and Harry answered together.

"Surely he wouldn't go as far as sending a house elf to your house, though," Auden said, raising an eyebrow.

"I have no idea," Harry sighed.

A few minutes later, they landed in the Burrow's front yard just as the sun was coming up. Fred parked the car exactly where they had found it and the five of them made their way into the house.

Harry began wandering around, a look of awe and amazement on his face as he took everything in, including the unique clock on the mantle that told where each member of the Weasley family was during the day. As Harry watched, Fred, George and Ron's hand moved from _traveling_ to _home_. Auden couldn't help but smile at the look on his face. He had probably never been in a wizarding household before.

"It's not much," Ron said, watching Harry as well, "but it's home."

"I think it's brilliant," Harry said with a grin as he turned to Ron.

Ron grinned back, but before he could say anything in response, Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Parker appeared in front of them.

"Where. Have. You. Been?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "I wake up and find Auden's mother knocking on my door saying she got up to make breakfast and couldn't find her daughter. I then realize that three of my sons are missing as well! Beds empty, no note, car gone…you could have died! You could have been _seen_!" She turned to Harry and smiled as she lowered her voice. "Of course, I don't blame _you_, Harry dear."

"They were starving him, Mum," Ron said, as Auden, Fred and George nodded from behind him. "There were bars on his window."

"Well you'd best hope I don't put bars on _your_ window, Ronald Weasley," his mother said, pointing a finger at him threateningly. She turned back to Harry and smiled. "Come on, dear, how about some breakfast?"

As Mrs. Weasley led Harry into the kitchen, Auden's mother turned to her and shook her head. "I don't know what you were thinking, going along with this," she said. "Molly's right. So many things could have gone wrong."

"We're the ones who asked her to come," Fred said, gesturing to himself, George and Ron, "so it's not really her fault."

"But she went along with it," Auden's mother said.

"Look, Mum, we're fine. We weren't seen and nothing bad happened with the car. Besides, we had to rescue Harry."

"And you couldn't have done this by telling an adult what was going on?"

"Of course not," Auden answered as Fred, George and Ron grinned from behind her. "That wouldn't be exciting in the least."

Her mother sighed and shook her head as she fought back a smile. "It still wasn't right and I don't think any of you should be using that car again."

"Fine," Auden agreed, holding up her hands.

"Now, come on, let's go eat," Mrs. Parker said. "Molly's cooked enough for all of us."

Despite the fact that Mrs. Weasley was clearly still upset about the car incident as the morning wore on, it didn't do anything to put a damper on the fact that Harry wasn't stuck in his bedroom at Privet Drive anymore. And in a few days, Hermione would be coming to stay at the Burrow as well. Auden would have all of her friends in one place and it was enough to get her looking forward to returning to Hogwarts again, even with Dobby's warning hanging in the air.


	9. Chapter 8: Returning to Hogwarts

Soon enough, Auden found herself heading to King's Cross with the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione. She actually couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts. She missed her classes, with the exception of History of Magic, and she missed most of the teachers, with the exception of Professor Snape. She even missed Peeves, but only a little.

The school year started out with Ron and Harry getting blocked from Platform 9 ¾. Auden knew something was up straight away seeing as she had traveled to King's Cross with them and then hadn't been able to find them on the train.

"You haven't seen Harry and Ron anywhere, have you?" she asked, sliding open the door to the compartment Fred and George were sharing with Lee. Hermione was standing right behind her, looking worried.

"No, we thought they were with you," Fred said, shrugging. "They have to be here somewhere. They came to King's Cross with us."

"That's what I was thinking, too," Auden said, chewing on her bottom lip, "but they aren't on the train."

"We've checked every compartment," Hermione added.

"I wouldn't worry," Fred said. "They might even be using Harry's invisibility cloak. Did you think of that?"

"No," Auden said, blinking. "But why would they need it?"

"Maybe they're spying on Malfoy or something," Fred responded. "Now why don't you two come sit down."

"And make sure you shut the door," George added with a smirk. "You're letting in all the stress and letting out all the calmness."

Auden shared a look with Hermione before they both stepped into the compartment. Auden took a seat next to Fred while Hermione sat next to Lee.

"You don't think anything bad happened to Harry and Ron, do you?" Auden asked Fred after a moment of silence.

"Auden," Fred said, half-laughing, "I'm sure they're fine."

"You aren't worried?"

"I don't think there's any reason to be," Fred shrugged. "Just relax. Have a Chocolate Frog." He waved one under her nose, but Auden didn't take it. "They're your favorite," Fred added. "Don't tell me you're turning it down."

Auden took the frog from Fred's hand and opened it. "Dumbledore," she said, looking at the card as she began munching on the candy. She tossed the card at Fred. "I have more Dumbledore cards than I know what to do with."

"And you think I don't?" Fred asked, tossing the card back at her.

"Hermione, do you want it?" Auden asked. "You could start collecting."

Hermione shrugged and took the card. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

Auden and Hermione spent the remainder of the ride with Fred, George and Lee. Auden expected Harry and Ron to come find them, but they never did.

"Can you just admit it now?" Auden asked Fred as they stepped off the train. "Harry and Ron aren't here."

"No, I will not admit it," Fred argued as they walked behind George and Lee towards the carriages. "They could be anywhere in this crowd."

"I beg to differ. They never caught up to us on the train."

"Why would they want to?" Fred teased. "It's you we're talking about here."

"Two of my best friends are missing, Fred Weasley." Auden poked him in the chest.

"What a fiery twelve year old you are," Fred muttered. "Come on, they'll turn up. I don't think anything would stop Harry from getting to school somehow. Something tells me he doesn't want to go back to the Dursley's house." He held out a hand to help Auden into a carriage.

"I'm still worried," she answered stubbornly, folding her arms and standing her ground.

"Are you planning on walking to the castle?" Fred teased.

"No," she answered, finally taking his hand and letting him pull her into the carriage, "but something's wrong, Fred, I can feel it."

Fred reached down and grabbed her hand. "I command you to stop worrying," he said. He was being serious, but even still, his mouth was turning up in the corners.

"Fine," she sighed. "Clearly, it's no use talking to you about it. I don't know how you can always be so calm."

"It's a gift," Fred grinned, tugging on the ends of Auden's hair playfully. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

As it turned out, Auden was right. Harry and Ron, after being blocked from the platform, ended up flying Mr. Weasley's car to school, which almost landed them a nice expulsion.

"What an entrance!" Fred congratulated the boys in the common room that night. "Definitely something George and I would have done." He stopped when he saw Auden glaring at him. "What?"

"It's not a good thing! They almost got expelled. They crashed your dad's car! Muggles saw them! Everything your mother was worried about actually happened to them this time."

Fred looked taken aback. Harry and Ron began slinking over to the boy's dormitory stairs. Clearly, they didn't want to continue talking about their entrance.

Auden sighed and half smiled. "All that aside," she continued, "it _was_ pretty cool, wasn't it?"

Fred grinned and pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead. "You had me worried for a second, there, Aud." She smirked and punched him gently in the shoulder.

* * *

"Lockhart makes me sick," Fred muttered the next night in the common room as he approached Auden, Ron and Harry by the fire.

"Why's that?" Auden asked, glancing up at him. She was playing Exploding Snap with Ron and beating him by a landslide.

"He's so full of himself! And all the girls are crazy about him." George rolled his eyes.

"Hermione's drawn hearts around his class in her schedule," Ron snorted, pretending to gag.

"Well, he _is_ good looking," Auden began.

Fred, George and Ron stared at her. "Not you, too," Fred groaned.

"I'm not drooling over him, I promise," she giggled. "He is way too full of himself for my liking, but I'm just telling you that girls think he's handsome. I don't think he's a very good teacher, either. Our first class was a disaster to say the least."

"The pixies?" Fred asked. "Yeah, George, Lee and I were the ones who had to round them all up in our class. You'd think he'd learn to not let them out of their cage again. Idiot."

Auden grinned and began shuffling the Exploding Snap cards. "Want to play?" she asked.

Fred and George nodded. "Sure."

* * *

After talk of the flying car had died down, things went back to normal at Hogwarts and Auden thought that perhaps for once, things could stay that way. But then there was the first attack.

Harry had been hearing a strange voice for a few days, and one evening, Halloween to be exact, he followed it to a hallway outside of an out of order bathroom. Ron, Hermione, and Auden soon caught up with him.

"What are you looking at?" asked Ron. Then, they all gasped when they saw it.

Filch's cat was hanging from a lamp bracket, still and motionless, eyes wide. Later, everyone learned that she had been Petrified. As if this wasn't bad enough, there was a message written on the wall in what looked like blood. The message read "the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware."

The opening of the Chamber of Secrets led to many questions about what it was and for a while, it was the talk of the school, until something else came up: Quidditch tryouts.

"Are you trying out, Aud?" Fred asked.

"I don't know. There's only one open spot, and probably lots of people trying out…."

"Auden Renee Parker, look at me," Fred said in a mock scolding voice. When Auden looked up, he continued. "You'll never know if you don't try. Please do it…for me?" Fred made a pouting face.

"Well, when you put it that way…." Auden said, finally cracking a smile.

A week later, Auden went down to the Quidditch pitch for tryouts. The original team was there, along with a crowd of prospective Chasers to fill Alicia's now vacant position. Oliver Wood was still captain and he was holding a clipboard and looking very serious.

Auden twisted her ring around her finger as the tryouts began. Did she really have a chance of making the team?

"Auden, you're up," Oliver said, all too soon.

Auden mounted her broom, her hands shaking.

"Knock 'em dead," Fred whispered, winking.

Auden nodded weakly. When Oliver blew his whistle, she flew into the air. Angelina and Katie flew around her, tossing her the Quaffle while Oliver guarded the goals. Auden caught the Quaffle right away and zoomed towards Oliver.

Ten minutes later, Auden landed. She had scored four out of five goals Oliver had told her to attempt.

"You were great, Aud," Fred told her. He gave her a hug and spun her around.

"The others don't stand a chance against you. Really, they don't," George added.

"Oh, shut up, you're just saying that."

"No, really, we wouldn't lie to you," said Fred, looking at her and smiling.

Auden blushed and looked away before sitting down on the grass. Fred and George joined her and the continued to watch the remainder of the tryouts.

"So Filch has been in a foul mood ever since Halloween," Fred said. "It's been two weeks of torture. He yells at people for the most random things."

"I kind of feel bad for him," Auden sighed, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them.

"Why?" the twins asked simultaneously.

"Because...as annoying as he and Mrs. Norris are, well, he loves that cat. I think she's really his only friend."

Fred and George laughed.

"I'm serious," Auden said, "and I think it's sad."

"He's a grumpy old man with or without Mrs. Norris," Fred said, still chuckling.

Auden pursed her lips. "Do you ever think what it must be like for him? He's a Squib, you know. Harry found paperwork for a Kwikspell course in his office on the first night back after he and Ron had been caught flying the car to school."

"Okay, so maybe he can't do magic and maybe he has no real friends, but he's grumpy," Fred said. "Just because his life isn't great doesn't give him the excuse to be mean to other people. You heard him on Halloween. He accused Harry of killing Mrs. Norris. We all know Harry wouldn't kill anyone and Mrs. Norris isn't even dead. He's crazy and irrational."

"Yeah, _because_ he has it tough," Auden said. "I'm not saying he's nice. He's been pretty rude on a lot of occasions, but I never really thought about why until now."

Fred and George were silent for a moment. "Are George and I still allowed to prank him?" Fred finally asked. "You won't lecture us if we do?"

"No," Auden sighed, "I won't. I will admit that there are certain times where he deserves it."

Fred smiled. "Good, I'm glad you haven't _completely _lost your mind."

Auden looked at him and opened her mouth to respond, but she didn't get the chance because tryouts ended at that moment and Wood landed in front of her.

"Good news, Auden," he said, looking down at his clipboard. "You made the team."

"You've decided already?" she asked in surprise. "Tryouts literally just ended."

"I know. And I know what type of player I'm looking for. You're it. I've decided. It's done. I'll see you Monday night for practice. Don't be late." He broke into a grin. "Congratulations and welcome to the team."

"You did it!" Fred and George yelled, both hugging Auden so hard, she almost fell over.

When they let go, Fred reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a small, roundish object, wrapped in foil. "This calls for a celebration," he said, giving it to Auden.

"A cupcake," she grinned after unwrapping it. It was slightly smushed, but she didn't care.

Fred reached over and scooped frosting onto his finger before smearing it on Auden's nose. "Welcome to the team," he said.

Auden just sighed with fake frustration. "One question," she said as they began walking back to the castle. "How did you know to bring the cupcake? You didn't know I'd make the team."

Fred looked at her and grinned. "If you didn't make the team, this was going to be a gift to cheer you up. Either way, I would have needed it."

"Thoughtful," Auden smiled, glancing at him. "I appreciate it, just so you know."

Fred nodded and ruffled her hair. "I know."


	10. Chapter 9: Some Things Never Change

Auden loved being on the Quidditch team. It was as simple as that. She loved being able to spend extra time with Fred and Harry, and she loved that she was becoming closer to the other team members. She didn't mind the crazy practice schedules or the sometimes crazy weather conditions, but on the other hand, when it was combined with homework and classes, it equaled a very busy schedule. Auden practiced and studied as hard as she could in her attempts to keep her grades up and stay on the team.

As if that wasn't enough, there were more attacks in mid-November. Three more to be exact. Colin Creevey was the first. Then, a week or two later, it was Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick, found in the same spot and clearly attacked at the same time. These attacks did nothing to help Auden's stress level. They worsened it, as was expected.

In late November, Harry, Ron and Hermione decided to brew Polyjuice Potion to turn into Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent Bulstrode. This way, they could interrogate Malfoy about the Chamber of Secrets. They would execute the plan over the Christmas holidays since Malfoy was apparently staying at school. Auden opted out of taking the potion, insisting that it would be too much trouble to find another Slytherin and get rid of them for the day. Besides, she felt as if she had enough to worry about without having to deal with that as well.

It turned out that the plan didn't go as well as expected. Harry and Ron tore into the common room on the night they carried it out and both started talking to Auden at once. They had gotten next to no information from Malfoy-he claimed to have no idea who was opening the Chamber-but Hermione's potion had turned her into a cat. She had thought she had picked up Millicent Bulstrode's hair, but instead, she got Millicent Bulstrode's cat hair. It was lucky that Madame Pomfrey didn't ask her too many questions.

The only person who might have been under as much pressure as Auden by the end of the year, if not more, was Harry. Besides the whole Polyjuice Potion plan, he was taking all the same classes as her, was on the Quidditch team, and in addition, he was being accused of being the heir of Slytherin because of the fact that the whole school had discovered he was a Parselmouth. He could talk to snakes. This was something Harry himself hadn't even known he could do until that year.

One evening, while working on her difficult History of Magic homework, Fred came and joined Auden on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked. "I haven't gotten the chance to talk to you in a while and see how you've been holding up."

Auden frantically shook her head. "Not well."

"Why?" Fred asked, sounding concerned.

Auden flopped backwards into the couch cushions and rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes. They felt dried out and tired. She needed sleep and she had been staring at her textbooks for way too long, but she had to finish her homework. It was due tomorrow first thing in the morning. "There's so much to deal with," she said. "I feel like I shouldn't complain because second year work is nothing compared to OWL or NEWT year. It's probably nothing even compared to what you and George are doing, but there's homework and classes and Quidditch and the attacks. It's just so _much._" Tears began to fill her eyes and she tried her best to hide them from Fred, but he noticed. She wished he hadn't. She felt embarrassed. She hated to cry, especially in front of people and _definitely _in front of Fred.

"Come here," Fred said, taking her into a hug. "What else is wrong?"

"The attacks," she said, sniffling as her crying slowed. She looked up at him. "I'm sorry for being such a baby, by the way."

"No, you're not being a baby. I understand. Everyone's under pressure their first year on the team. They have to learn how to juggle everything and the attacks added on aren't helping. It's hard for everyone this year. And you hardly ever cry so I won't hold this time against you." He smiled down at her.

Auden wiped her eyes, half smiled and then sighed as her smile faded. "Why is this happening? It's all because they're Muggle born."

"I know, it's pathetic," Fred answered. He put his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm scared, Fred."

"You have nothing to worry about," he said. "The monster won't come after you."

"That's not the point, Fred. Hermione's a Muggleborn. I'm scared for her. I'm scared they'll close Hogwarts. I'm just scared."

Fred took a deep breath. "Me too."

"Yeah?" Auden blinked up at him in surprise. It was kind of odd hearing Fred admit that he was scared. He usualy didn't, even if he was. He and George were used to doing that in order to comfort either Auden or Ginny.

Fred nodded. "Look, you should get some rest. You look exhausted and you're stressed. A good night's sleep will make you feel better."

"I haven't finished my essay," Auden told him, looking down at it.

"What's it on?" Fred pulled the essay towards him. "Oh, the goblin wars…I can finish it. Go to bed, rest, clear your head. I'll give you this tomorrow morning."

"Are you sure?" Auden asked.

Fred nodded. "Positive."

"You're really offering to do my homework when you're barely motivated to do your own?"

Fred laughed. "I am. It's a shock, I know."

"I feel special." Auden smiled up at him. Fred always knew just how to do that. He always wanted the best for her and always looked out for her no matter what. She loved that about him.

"You are special, Aud," Fred grinned.

Auden smiled back and gave Fred a quick hug. "Thank you, really. You're the best."

"I know," Fred smirked.

* * *

By the time the following weekend came around, Auden was feeling a lot better. There was a Quidditch match the next day that she felt prepared for, no attacks had happened in a while and her teachers were easing up on the homework they were giving out. Besides all that, the Mandrakes were almost ready to be used to cure the petrified students. Maybe things would end up being okay after all.

Auden woke up to bright sun streaming through the dormitory window. She looked at the bed next to her where Hermione slept but it was empty. Auden assumed Hermione had just gone down to breakfast early before the match. She dressed, grabbed her broom, and met Harry in the common room so they could walk down together. They talked about how the weather conditions were perfect for their match.

They met the rest of the team in the changing rooms and Wood gave them a last minute pep talk before leading them outside, where they were stopped by Professor McGonagall. Ron was with her, looking confused.

"Today's match has been canceled," McGonagall said sadly.

"You can't cancel Quidditch," Wood said, appalled.

"I just did. Miss Parker, Mr. Potter, you might want to come with me."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Just follow me," was the answer.

Auden caught Fred's eye. He was standing a few feet away, looking bewildered and concerned. Auden made an _I don't know what's happening _face and jogged after Harry, Ron, and McGonagall.

They walked in silence to the hospital wing. A feeling of dread filled Auden's stomach and it increased when she saw the petrified figure lying on the nearest bed.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled.

"She was found next to Miss Clearwater and she had this mirror in her hand. Do any of you know why?" McGonagall asked, holding up the mirror.

They all shook their heads slowly as they gazed at the next bed containing Penelope Clearwater.

Professor McGonagall left Auden, Harry and Ron to sit with Hermione alone.

"What are we going to do?" Auden asked. "The attacks are happening more frequently and it doesn't look like whoever it is plans on stopping anytime soon. If they aren't caught, Hogwarts will close."

Harry and Ron shrugged and shook their head, totally bemused.

"I have no idea what to do," Harry said.

"We need Hermione," Auden sighed. "She _always_ knew what to do."

"I wonder why she was in the library in the first place," Ron said. "She ran off at breakfast this morning and said she was going there, but I was really confused. She wouldn't say why. I had thought we were going to watch the match together."

"I wonder if she knew anything or had gotten an idea," Auden said. "But we'll never know. At least not until the Mandrakes are ready and who knows how many people could be attacked by then."

"Exactly," Harry said with a sigh. He reached out and gently touched Hermione's hand as Auden tucked her feet under her and chewed her bottom lip anxiously.

There had to be a way to stop these attacks. There just _had_ to be.

* * *

In the days following Hermione's attack, Auden found herself spending a lot of time with the twins, and sometimes even just Fred. One night, a few weeks after the attack, Auden was on the common room couch, staring at her homework, but not really seeing it. Fred was beside her, attempting to do some of his own homework. Finally, he glanced at Auden and sighed.

"Come with me," he said.

"Where?" Auden asked, standing up and following him out of the portrait hole.

"To the kitchens," he answered. "You're not concentrating on your homework and neither am I."

"You never are," she said quietly, a small smile on her lips.

"True," Fred grinned, "but I think we both needed to get out for a bit."

They made their way down to the kitchens in a comfortable silence. When they got there, they seated themselves at a table while the house elves hurried to bring them food.

"Do you think Hogwarts will have to close?" Auden asked, tracing the worn lines in the wooden table.

"I hope not," Fred sighed. "I'd like to think the teachers won't let that happen, but I'm not sure there's much they can do. No one knows where the Chamber of Secrets is or what the monster is. And by not knowing that, we don't know how to destroy it."

Auden kept quiet as the house elves brought over the food and set it on the table between her and Fred. "What if someone dies?" she asked. "What if Hogwarts _does_ close? Where do we go?"

Fred shrugged as he looked down. "I don't know. We'd go to another magical school I suppose."

Auden noticed he hadn't answered her question about someone dying and it only made her more anxious. She knew Fred didn't have all the answers and he was just as scared as she was, but she needed answers. She needed everything to be okay again.

She and Fred spent some more time in the kitchens before making their way back upstairs to the common room, which was oddly crowded. Auden spotted George glumly sitting alone in the corner. When he saw Auden and Fred, he stood up and made his way over to them, looking terribly pale.

"George, what's wrong?" Fred asked.

"It's Ginny, she's been taken into the Chamber of Secrets."

"What?" Auden and Fred gasped.

"McGonagall sent everyone back to their common rooms. There was another note left on the wall. It said 'her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever'."

"Do Ron and Harry know?" Auden asked as Fred's face lost all color.

"I don't know. No one's seen them," George said.

"They went to visit Hermione in the hospital wing, didn't they?" Auden asked. "We have to go tell them. We have to figure out how to save Ginny."

"Are you mental?" Fred asked. "Even if we actually knew where the Chamber of Secrets is, we don't know how to get in."

"That's why we have to figure it out! We have to go." She turned and started for the portrait hole, but Fred grabbed her around the waist.

"No, stop for a minute, Aud."

"Let me go," she cried, struggling against him.

"Auden, listen," Fred said, gritting his teeth as Auden continued to fight him. "We can't go down into the Chamber. Like I said, we don't know where it is or how to get in, and we're not supposed to leave the common room."

"Fred, Ginny is your sister!" Auden said, giving up fighting Fred and angrily turning to face him. "How can you not want to go save her? How can you be so calm about this? Of all the opportunities you have to obey the rules, you're choosing _now_?"

"Auden, listen to me," Fred whispered, putting his hands on her shoulders and bending down to look her straight in the eyes. "I'm terrified, okay? I'm absolutely terrified."

Auden looked at him and sighed. "So what do you suggest we do, then? Just sit here?"

"The professors seem to think," George began quietly, "that there's no hope. None of them know where the Chamber is or how to get in."

"So nobody's going to do _anything_?" Auden spun out of Fred's grip and turned to face George. She was apalled. The professors had to at least _attempt_ to do something.

"Well," George began slowly, "I didn't get the chance to say this before, but McGonagall told me that she went to the hospital wing to break the news about Ginny to Harry and Ron, but they weren't there. And they definitely aren't here."

"What are you saying?" Auden asked. "You think they went looking for the Chamber?"

George nodded. "And I think Lockhart's with him. McGonagall said the teachers sent him to go rescue Ginny since he's apparently so great, but nobody actually thought he would do it. They just wanted him out of the way. But he's not in his office according to McGonagall, so…." He trailed off and shrugged.

"Great, just great," Auden sighed. Ginny's fate was in the hands of two twelve year olds and an imbicile teacher. It was as good as having no one looking out for her. Auden walked over to the couch and sat down, resting her chin in her hands. "What do we do?"

"We can't do anything, Aud," Fred sighed. "As much as I want to…we just can't. We don't know where the Chamber is and even if we tried to figure it out, Ginny could already be—be—" He sunk down on to the couch next to Auden and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. "I can't even say it," he said.

"Then don't," Auden whispered, glancing at him.

"I usually never admit things like this," George chimed in, "but I'm scared."

"Me, too," Auden said.

"Me three," Fred added.

Auden slid closer to Fred and rested her head on his shoulder. With her other hand, she pulled George over until he was leaning on her. They sat in silence like that until they all fell asleep.

The next day, Auden opened her eyes and stared up at the common room ceiling. She sighed as she remembered the events of the night before. She felt awful about not doing anything, but Fred had been right. There was nothing they could have done. And Harry, Ron and Ginny just had to be okay. Ginny had to have been saved somehow. There had to have been a way.

Sighing again, she looked down at George, who had fallen asleep across her lap. Then she glanced over at Fred, who she was still leaning against. She poked George's shoulder with one hand and Fred's with the other. When they didn't move, she poked them harder. "Come on, wake up," she said.

Slowly, the twins opened their eyes. George sat up and stretched. "What time is it?"

"I don't know, but I think we should figure out what happened to Harry, Ron and Ginny, don't you?" Auden asked.

The twins nodded solemnly. "I'm almost afraid to know the answer," Fred muttered.

"Are you talking about Harry and Ron?"

Auden looked up. Katie was standing behind the couch, looking down at them. Auden hadn't even heard her come in.

"Yeah, why, do you know what happened to them?" George asked.

"They went down to the Chamber of Secrets last night. Harry ended up getting his hands on a sword and killed the monster of Slytherin. Lockhart was there too and tried to erase their memories, but it backfired and now he has no idea who he is."

"But they're okay?" Auden asked. "And Ginny's okay, too?"

"Yeah, they're all fine. I don't know how they managed to do it."

Auden grinned and pulled both Fred and George into a hug as they grinned with relief.

"This is the best news I've heard all day," George said.

"That's pretty good considering your day just started," Fred answered. "But it's the best news I've heard all day as well."

"I agree," Auden said. "I wonder where they are now. The Great Hall, maybe?"

Fred nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's go check."

When the three of them reached the Great Hall, they saw Harry and Ron sitting with Ginny at the Gryffindor table. Auden sighed with a relief. They were okay. Ginny was okay. She wasn't dead.

"Do you two care to explain what happened?" Auden asked as she approached Harry and Ron. Fred and George were hugging Ginny, but looked up as Harry and Ron began speaking.

"We wanted to come and find you, but we had to hurry," Harry explained. "We knew we didn't have much time."

"How did you figure out where the entrance to the chamber was?"

"Well, remember a few weeks ago when Ron and I talked to Aragog? We learned that last time, the person that died was in a bathroom, so we took a guess and thought it might have been Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and we were right. The entrance was beneath the sinks."

"And you killed the basilisk?"

"With the sword of Gryffindor!" Ron exclaimed. "I wasn't there to see it. I was too busy shifting fallen rocks out of the tunnel so that Harry and Ginny could get back."

"Impressive, Harry," Auden said, sitting beside him. "And I'm glad you're okay, Ginny. I was worried sick."

"I was so stupid," Ginny muttered. "I never should have written in that diary."

"It's not your fault," Fred said. "And you're okay now, which is all that really matters."

"I heard the potion to cure the victims is done and everyone should be okay by dinner tonight," Ron said after a moment.

"Thank goodness," Auden said. While she had the twins, Harry, Ron and Ginny to hang out with, she missed Hermione.

What Ron said ended up being true. Hermione and all of the other victims were cured by that night and were able to attend the end of year feast.

"It's so good to have you back, Hermione," said Auden, smiling as Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"It's good to be back," Hermione replied, returning the smile.

"Yeah, now you can start helping me with my homework again," Ron mumbled, scribbling out a sentence in his Transfiguration essay.

Hermione laughed and smiled at him. "Some things never change."

Gryffindor ended up winning the House cup for the second year in a row that night, Hagrid came back from Azkaban, and Dumbledore cancelled all end of year exams. Hermione actually looked disappointed at this news.

"Are you seriously upset?" Auden asked her in confusion. "You've been petrified for a while. You've missed out on valuable study time. This is a good thing."

"I know, but all the studying I did before that has been wasted!" Hermione cried.

Auden blinked and met Fred's eyes across the table. He snorted and shook his head, causing Auden to smile. Hermione had been right. Some tings never did change.

* * *

**A/N: So I didn't think I'd be able to update until tomorrow night, but I had time this morning so I did some quick editing on this chapter and uploaded it. I realized in the earlier chapters that I was kind of almost rewriting the book but with Auden in it, so I'm going to try to do less of that so I don't bore anyone. I'll upload the next chapter soon! :)**


	11. Chapter 10: Caught in the Moment

"Come on, Aud, you can finish unpacking later," Ron complained, leaning against the doorframe to the room Auden, Hermione and Ginny were sharing at the Leaky Cauldron.

"What are you in such a rush for?" Auden asked, ignoring his comment and continuing to unpack. "Ah, I know. You missed me so much while you were in Egypt that you're eager to spend as much time with me as possible." She looked over her shoulder and grinned at her friend. Truthfully, she had missed him while he was in Egypt, despite the fact that she was glad he got to go. She had missed all of the Weasleys very much, but they had written to her quite often, and for that she was glad.

"No, actually, I was hoping to have forgotten all about you by now," Ron replied. "But even Hermione hasn't unpacked yet. Truthfully, there's no need. We're only here for tonight before we leave for Hogwarts tomorrow. You're wasting your time. Anyway, Hermione's waiting downstairs for us. Harry's around Diagon Alley somewhere and I want to find him."

"Fine," Auden answered. "If it'll get you to shut your trap, then I'll leave the unpacking for later."

"Thank you," Ron huffed exasperatedly as they headed down the stairs. They met up with Hermione and headed out into Diagon Alley. They managed to get a good amount of school shopping done before running into Harry.

"How've you been?" Auden asked. "I can't believe you didn't get expelled for that whole incident with your aunt." She had been incredibly worried about Harry ever since her dad had come home from work and explained that Harry had blown up his Aunt Marge recently.

"I know," Harry said. "It was quite odd. I was completely expecting expulsion, to be honest."

"Well, seeing as you didn't get into trouble, I think it's hysterical," Auden said.

"It's not!" Hermione sniffed.

"It is, Hermione, face it," Ron laughed.

"And what about Sirius Black?" Auden asked. "Have you heard, Harry?" That was the other thing she had been worrying about since the news of Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban had hit the papers.

"Yeah, the conductor on the Knight Bus was reading the Prophet with him on the front page. And he was on the Muggle news, too."

"Wow, it must be serious then, if they're getting the Muggles out looking for him," Ron said.

"Of course it's serious. He's the first ever person to escape from Azkaban. He killed thirteen people," Auden said. "He's dangerous."

As they passed by the Quidditch store, Ron and Harry insisted on having a look inside, so Auden and Hermione decided to go get ice cream and meet up with the boys later.

"So, you've been friends with the Weasleys forever, huh? Hermione asked out of the blue as she stared at her ice cream.

"Yeah, our parents were best friends at Hogwarts," Auden replied. "When I was younger, it felt like we were all more…together. We're still close now, but Bill and Charlie are off in other countries and it's Ben and Percy's last year at Hogwarts. Percy's being annoying anyway, but the rest of us are still close. Bill and Charlie write all the time, but sometimes I miss the old days."

"What's Ben going to do next year?" Hermione asked.

"He used to want to go into the Ministry, but he says Percy's turned him off that. Now, he wants to travel somewhere, maybe join Charlie in Romania. I want him to be happy, but I'll miss him."

"So…" Hermione began. "Have you ever…maybe….kind of…I don't know…had feelings for any of the Weasleys?"

"No," Auden said slowly, as Fred's face popped into her head. It alarmed her, for some reason and she tried to push away anything it might be implying.

"Not even Ron?" pressed Hermione.

"Ron? No, never. I think I'm closest to him, since we're the same age, so he's really been almost my family. Why?"

"Oh, I see. I was just wondering," Hermione answered, smiling suddenly. She paused. "What about Fred?"

"Fred?" Auden asked in surprise as her stomach fluttered anxiously. Why had that happened? And what was Hermione suggesting? "What about him?"

"I don't know. It's just that when you're not with me, Ron and Harry, you're with the twins."

"Yeah, both of them usually, not specifically Fred."

"But I've seen you two alone together, too. I think there's something there."

Auden giggled. "People can be friends without having to be a couple. And I doubt Fred likes me, Hermione. I'm just his thirteen year old friend. He wouldn't possibly like me."

Hermione just shrugged. "Just my opinion, that's all."

Auden didn't get the chance to respond because Ron and Harry met up with them just then and they returned to their back to school shopping. Hermione even bought an ugly cat with a squashed face that was named Crookshanks. Then, they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner. Considering how many people there were in total, they had a room to themselves and right as Auden, Ron, Harry and Hermione walked through the door, they saw the typical chaos going on.

Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Parker were trying to set up their tables for dinner, but their husbands were trying to get them to dance with them along to the music that was playing from the radio. George was swinging Ginny around while Fred and Ben laughed off to the side.

"Ah, look, dance partners!" Fred cried, noticing the group of new arrivals.

Ben marched over and grabbed Hermione while Fred grabbed Auden's hand and twirled her around. She couldn't help but laugh with happiness. Fred spun her out and she spun back into him. Suddenly, time seemed to stop as Fred and Auden's eyes met. Auden became overly aware of Fred's hand holding hers, his other hand around her waist, the blue of his eyes,and the way he was looking at her. Suddenly, there was a flash, and they looked up.

"Sorry, couldn't let that moment pass," smiled Mrs. Parker, camera in hand.

Auden blinked and stepped out of Fred's grasp as he cleared his throat. Auden felt a sudden blush creeping up her cheeks as she hurried to help get ready for dinner. She told herself that nothing had just happened between her and Fred. It was simply Hermione's words getting to her head.

As if to prove her point, things between Auden and Fred went back to their usual relationship that bordered that of a brother and sister as they sat down to eat. But Auden found herself wondering if what she had seen had been real. She didn't think that odd spark that had just happened between her and Fred was something that happened between brothers and sisters. In fact, she was fairly positive of it. But the real question was if it had been her imagination or not. All through dinner, she constantly tried to get that one moment out of her head. She did _not_ have feelings for Fred. No way. Eventually, she managed to talk herself out of any weird feelings, but next to her, Hermione was smirking.

"So," Percy said, jolting Auden out of her thoughts, "how are we getting to the station tomorrow?"

"I've managed to get a few Ministry cars to bring us," Mr. Weasley answered.

"Why?" Percy asked curiously.

"It's because of you, Perce," George said. "And there'll be little flags on the hood with HB on them-"

"For humongous bighead," Fred finished.

Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley let out snorts of laughter.

"Why is the Ministry providing cars?" Percy asked, louder this time.

"Well, seeing as we don't have one anymore and I work there, they're doing me a favor," Mr. Weasley shrugged.

Percy nodded in satisfaction.

"Is everyone all packed?" Mrs. Weasley asked anxiously. "We won't have much time tomorrow..."

"Ron's dumped all his new things on my bed," Percy sniffed.

"You'd better finish packing those things straight after dinner, Ron," Mrs. Weasley ordered.

Ron rolled his eyes and scowled at Percy before glancing at Auden. "Good thing he didn't see you _unpacking_ earlier or else he'd rat you out, too," he whispered.

"Honestly, it's too bad Fred and George didn't succeed in locking him in a pyramid," Auden muttered.

* * *

Fred snuck another glance at Auden. It must have been the hundreth time in the past half an hour. He had tried to focus on the dinner conversation, but it was hard. Auden had always just been a friend to him; a girl he had wanted to protect and love as fiercely as he protected Ginny. But a little over thirty minutes ago, something odd had happened. He had grabbed Auden to dance with, spun her around, and officially succeeded in spinning his life around with her.

When she had looked up at him with her giant, round brown eyes, he hadn't been able to breathe. Time had stopped. He had become way too aware of how close she was and the way her skin and hair smelled. Her shirt had ridden up slightly and one of his fingers was grazing the skin of her back. All of it drove him nuts. But he couldn't _like_ Auden. That was outrageous. The feelings had come so suddenly, too. One second, he was looking at her like he always did, and in the next, he was thinking about how smile, her eyes, her freckles. And truthfully, it terrified him. If this progressed, it could be dangerous.

"Hey, you alright?"

Fred nodded as George's voice nudged him out of his trance. He quickly began shoveling food into his mouth to avoid saying anything.

"You've been a lot quieter than usual," George observed. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Fred mumbled.

George was quiet for a moment. "Okay," he finally said. "If you say so."

Fred knew his twin didn't fully believe him. He barely believed himself. But he wasn't ready to tell anyone about what he had suddenly felt for Auden. It could very well be a fluke. Things had happened so suddenly and that couldn't be normal...could it? Maybe the best thing to do was wait and see how things progressed before saying anything to anyone else, even George.

* * *

"Hey."

Auden almost screamed as Fred grabbed her arm later that night as she was walking to her room. "Fred," she gasped, "you scared me."

"Sorry," Fred whispered, dragging her into his own room that he shared with George.

"I have to finish packing for school tomorrow," she said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Let me show you something first," Fred said. He walked over to George, who was sitting on his bed, smirking, and took something from him.

"Is that Percy's Head Boy badge?" Auden asked, her interest more powerful than the slight awkwardness she was feeling.

Fred nodded and held out the badge. "Read what it says."

Auden took the badge and let out a snort of laughter. "Bighead Boy?"

Fred and George both bowed. Auden was about to hand the badge back when the door burst open and Percy marched into the room. "I knew it was you three," he said furiously. "I've been worried sick about that badge. Do you know how disappointing it would be if I lost it?" He snatched it from Auden's hand.

"It wasn't her," Fred said. "It was me and George. We were just showing it to Auden."

"I've already showed it to Auden," Percy sniffed.

"And the rest of the world," Fred laughed.

Percy scowled. "Leave my things alone," he said before leaving in a huff.

"He didn't even notice you changed it!" Auden said.

"He will. All in good time," Fred grinned. His face suddenly became serious. "Can I walk you back to your room?"

Auden felt anxious again, but she nodded. "Sure," she whispered. Fred smiled and she followed him from the room. She wanted to ask him if he had felt what she had earlier, but she was terrified. She was terrified of things changing between them. She had never had a relationship with Fred that was either awkward or romantic and she didn't want to progress into either of those territories at the moment.

"So, did you get the chance to talk to Harry earlier?" Fred asked. "You know, about his aunt?"

Auden nodded. "He said he didn't mean to do it, but he's kind of glad he did. She deserved it."

"He really got stuck with the worst set of Muggles imaginable as relatives," Fred snorted.

Auden nodded again. "Well, here we are," she said with a slight smile as they reached her, Hermione, and Ginny's room on the floor above Fred and George's. She glanced at the door, then back at Fred.

"Wait," Fred said, reaching into his pocket. "I know I got back from Egypt two days ago, but I never got the chance to give this to you."

Auden smiled slightly. Fred had gotten her a gift? She had barely had time to enjoy the thought when Fred was tossing a rubber dung beetle onto her shoulder. She let out a squeal and jumped backwards as the beetle fell to the floor and Fred laughed.

"Maybe you should've been the one to be locked in a pyramid," she muttered with a scowl.

"Come on, Aud," Fred said quietly as his laughing slowed. He reached out and tugged on the ends of Auden's hair. "Have a sense of humor."

"I have to have one when I've been around you and George for so long," Auden sighed.

"Yeah, so where is it now?" Fred asked, smiling as he scanned her face for a sign of her own smile.

Auden managed to smile slightly and shake her head as she opened the door to her room. She turned to look at Fred. "Goodnight, Fred."

"Auden, can we…." Fred looked at her and bit his lip. "I…."

"Yes?" she prodded, wondering what he was going to say.

"I—never mind," Fred sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Before Auden could respond, he was gone, leaving her wondering if he, like her, had been unable to stop thinking about that moment between them downstairs. Had he almost brought it up? Had he even felt it? Or was it all in Auden's head?


	12. Chapter 11: Sirius Black

Auden's third year started off as normal as any other school year. Well, that was if you didn't count the Dementor that showed up on the Hogwarts Express. She had been sharing a compartment with Ron, Harry, Hermione and their new Defense professor, Professor Lupin, who was asleep. Harry had been telling them that Sirius Black was apparently after him, when the train had screeched to a halt. Everything had gone cold and dark, and a few minutes later, the compartment door had slid open to reveal the Dementor.

It was the most horrifying thing Auden had ever seen. She felt cold and miserable and she suddenly began feeling as if she would never be happy again. The compartment was eerily silent and she could feel the silence pressing on her ears. Then, Harry had fainted, Professor Lupin had jumped up and aimed a spell at the Dementor, and it had disappeared. Professor Lupin had revived Harry, given them all chocolate, and left to speak to the conductor.

Auden had gotten up as well, feeling the need to move around. She made her way to Fred and George's compartment to see them eating chocolate as well. Apparently, Professor Lupin was handing it out as he made his way to the front of the train. She wondered if it was normal for him to walk around with chocolate. But it didn't matter, anyway. Her thoughts were too consumed with other things.

On the subject of Fred, she hadn't had any more moments with him like at the Leaky Cauldron, but every time they were together in Hermione's presence, she gave Auden a knowing look—looks Auden tried her best to ignore. Nothing had progressed between her and Fred and that made it easy for Auden to ignore any feelings she may have thought she developed for him. He was one of her best friends. Nothing had changed. It had been her imagination.

In October, on Halloween to be exact, Auden, Ron and Hermione went to Hogsmeade for the first time together. In Harry's hurry to leave the Dursley's after the Aunt Marge incident, he had no time to get his permission slip signed (not that his uncle would've signed it anyway), so that meant he wasn't able to go. Auden felt terribly about it, but she still tried to have as much fun in Hogsmeade as possible. She, Ron and Hermione made time for every shop. They stopped for a butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks, and bought sweets at Honeydukes. They even ran into Fred and George at Zonko's, which was everything the twins had described after their first visit there.

Upon their return, Auden, Hermione and Ron met up with Harry and began walking to the Halloween feast together. It was probably one of Auden's favorite feasts at Hogwarts and she enjoyed herself immensely, especially after the trip to Hogsmeade, which she, Hermione and Ron spent dinner filling Harry in on.

When the feast was over, they headed back to Gryffindor tower together only to be met with a large crowd outside the common room.

"What's going on?" Auden asked, trying to peer over the heads of people in front of her.

"Neville's probably forgotten the password again," Ron muttered.

"Hey!" Neville said from behind them, looking and sounding offended.

"Oh, sorry, mate," Ron said, his ears turning red with embarrassment.

"Well, even if one person forgot the password, _all_ of these people couldn't have," Hermione said.

Ginny suddenly appeared, looking panic stricken. "It's the Fat Lady! She's gone! Her portraits been ruined!"

Auden and Hermione gasped as Ron and Harry's mouths dropped open. Normally, the Fat Lady was known for occasionally visiting her friend Violet's painting, but the fact that the portrait was destroyed led Auden to believe that the Fat Lady had been scared away.

"Excuse me!" Percy began pushing his way through the crowd. "I'm Head Boy! Excuse me, let me through!" He brushed past Auden and the crowd parted to let him pass. Auden took the opportunity to follow him in order to get closer.

"Do you know how it happened?" she asked, slipping up beside the twins and gazing at the empty fat lady's portrait that had three deep gashes across it. Percy was staring open mouthed at the damage.

"Someone get Professor Dumbledore! Quickly!"

"Nobody knows," Fred whispered to Auden. "We all got here and the fat lady was already gone and her portrait was already ripped up."

"Everyone out of the way!" Dumbledore and Filch were forcing their way through the crowd, which parted again to let them through. Dumbledore stood silently in front of the portrait for a moment before reaching out and running a hand over the gashes. Finally, he turned to Filch. "Search every portrait for the Fat Lady," he began.

Suddenly, a cackle sounded from behind them. Everyone spun around to see Peeves floating in the air, laughing madly.

"Peeves," Dumbledore said. "Do you know something?"

Peeves nodded. "I saw the Fat Lady running through a landscape portrait on the fourth floor, crying something terrible. She's a horrible mess. Doesn't want to be seen. Poor thing."

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked.

Peeves nodded. "Oh yes," he said, looking thrilled that he knew exactly what had happened to the Fat Lady. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." The poltergeist flipped over and peered at Dumbledore upside down. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

Gasps could be heard throughout the crowd at the news. Auden's stomach clenched. Sirius Black had been in the castle. He could _still_ be in the castle. He had tried to get into Gryffindor tower. Even though she had been uneasy about him being on the loose, she had never thought he could get into Hogwarts. It was so heavily protected, and besides that, it was crowded with people who were being urged to recognize him and turn him in. She instinctively took a step towards Fred. He noticed and put an arm around her shoulders, protectively pulling her to him.

Dumbledore turned and addressed the students. "I want you all to go wait in the Great Hall. You'll be sleeping there for tonight while the staff searches and secures the castle. I trust the prefects and our Head Boy to keep everything in order." He nodded towards Percy, who puffed out his chest before he began directing people towards the Great Hall.

"Let's all proceed downstairs in a neat and orderly fashion," he said. Normally, Auden would have laughed at Percy's obvious excitement to be in charge in a real emergency, but she was too scared at the moment.

"Come on." Fred grabbed Auden's wrist while George moved to her other side. It was like she had her own personal bodyguards.

"I don't think Sirius Black is going to jump out at us," she said tentatively, glancing up at their stony faces. "Especially when there's a huge mob of us walking the halls. Besides, he doesn't want me. He wants," she looked at the ground, "well, he wants Harry. You two don't need to protect me, even if it is extremely sweet of you."

"It doesn't matter who he's after," Fred said, shaking his head. "The fact is that he was in the castle and he's an escaped murderer. He's dangerous."

"Then why aren't you acting as bodyguards for anybody else?"

"They can fend for themselves," George said, his mouth twitching into a smile.

"And I can't?" Auden laughed. "I'm insulted."

"We know you're perfectly capable of fending for yourself," Fred said, "but personally, I like to try to protect you as much as I can. If there's ever a time when George and I—or even Ben—aren't around, you can whip out you're incredible defensive skills."

"Oh, please," Auden grinned, "if there's one thing I can count on it's you two always being around to try and protect me. Ben, too, for the most part, but now that he's considering going to Romania once school's over, it'll be completely up to the two of you."

"It'll be our pleasure," the twins said, bowing as they reached the great hall. Dumbledore arrived a moment later to clear the room and add enough sleeping bags for everyone before he left to assist the other teachers and leaving Percy in charge.

"Is right here okay?" Fred asked, crouching down beside three sleeping bags in one corner of the room.

Auden and George nodded before kneeling down beside him. Auden stuck her legs into her sleeping bag and bent them before resting her elbows on her knees. She stared off into space as Fred and George got themselves situated.

"Hey, you alright?" Fred whispered, sliding closer and mirroring the position she was sitting in.

She nodded. "It is a bit scary….Do you think we're safe even here in the Great Hall?"

"Not a chance if Percy's in charge," Fred joked.

Auden half smiled before looking down at the ground.

"Now that the teachers know Sirius Black was in the castle, there's no way they're going to leave us completely unattended," Fred said seriously. "Besides, they're searching the castle as we speak. And honestly, I don't think Black's still here anyway."

"You don't?"

"No," Fred answered. "Obviously, he got angry at the Fat Lady and took out his temper on her but he must have known she'd cause a racket once he slashed her painting. He wouldn't stick around knowing that word would spread and the castle would be secured."

Auden nodded. "That makes sense. But good thing we were all down at the feast. Otherwise...if Black came into the common room..." She trailed off and shivered.

Just then, Ben came out of nowhere and crouched down in front of her. "There you are," he said breathlessly, pulling her into a hug. "I couldn't find you in that crowd and I was hoping you were alright."

"Fine," she smiled. "I had Fred and George as my bodyguards."

"Good, good," Ben said. "You'll be alright now?"

Auden nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"I'll be right across the room if you need me," Ben assured her.

"Ben, I'll be fine," Auden said. "I promise."

"Yeah, she felt the need to remind us as well that she can take care of herself," George said, rolling his eyes. "Don't take it personally, Ben."

Ben laughed. "I have no doubt that you can defend yourself, Aud, but I'm your brother. It's my job to protect you and Fred and George must feel the same way."

Auden nodded. "They've given me nearly the same speech you just gave me. Honestly, I don't know if it's annoying or sweet that I have so many _strong_, _tough_ men looking out for me." She smirked.

"Strong? Tough? These two?" Ben teased, pointing his thumb at Fred and George. "Funny, Aud."

"Go away, Ben," the twins said in unison.

Ben grinned before turning back to Auden. "Seriously, if you need anything, come get me."

Auden nodded and saluted him, giving him a half smile. "Aye, aye," she answered quietly.

Ben smiled and stood up before heading back over to his friends. Auden pulled her knees closer to her chest and shivered again.

"Lie down," Fred instructed as he and George slid completely into their sleeping bags.

Auden did as he said, pulling her sleeping bag up to her chin. She turned on her side to face Fred, who reached out and tugged her sleeping bag towards him. He draped an arm over her and pulled her even closer. She rested her forehead in the crook of his neck and sighed.

"Warmer now?" Fred asked.

"Hm?" she asked, confused.

"You shivered. I thought that meant you were cold."

"I was—I am—and this is much better. Thank you," she said.

"Remember the time we went camping in my backyard?" Fred asked.

Auden nodded against his neck. "Mm. Just me, you, George, Ron and Ginny. It was you and George's second to last night at home before you headed off to Hogwarts for the first time."

"I believe we decided it was our own little going away party, didn't we?" Fred chuckled.

Auden nodded again. "I missed you two when you left. The house was so much quieter with you and George gone. I think your mother enjoyed the peace and quiet, but I didn't."

"No?"

"No, I liked the commotion you and George caused. I still do, if I'm being honest."

"I like it, too," Fred said. Auden knew he was smiling. "Anyway, tonight's like the time we went camping, isn't it? We just have a fake sky above us."

"And a killer on the loose," Auden sighed.

"Auden, don't be scared. I promise you'll be fine. Between me, you, George and Ben, Sirius Black wouldn't stand a chance if he chose to attack you. Not that he would, but you know, if he did...Besides, we've got Ginny around for back-up as well."

"Quite an army," Auden said. There was a pause. "Fred?"

"Mm?"

"How do you think he got in?"

Fred didn't answer right away. "I don't know," he finally whispered. "I don't think anybody does."

"That's probably how Sirius Black likes it, don't you think?" Auden asked. "This way everyone's in the dark and none the wiser on how he's managing to get inside Hogwarts."

Fred nodded. "Most likely." He tucked a strand of Auden's hair behind her ear. "Just try to fall asleep. By tomorrow, I'm sure everything will be back to normal."

* * *

Fred was somewhat right. Things were nearly back to normal the next day. Classes went on as usual, the search from the night before had proven that Sirius Black was nowhere inside the castle, and the Gryffindors were able to use their common room again. However, the Fat Lady wasn't the one guarding the entrance. She was refusing to come back just yet and none of the other portraits wanted the job…except one.

Sir Cadogan had taken over the post and he was annoying to say the least. He changed the password so frequently, it was nearly impossible to keep up. He also wouldn't let people in or out without trying to challenge them to a duel.

Quidditch was still going on, of course. Everyone on the Gryffindor team wanted to win the finals for Wood since he was in his last year. However, making it to the finals seemed like it was going to be difficult. Especially after the first match where Gryffindor played against Hufflepuff.

Firstly, the match was supposed to be against Slytherin, but Marcus Flint, their captain, had announced that their team wasn't ready to play since Malfoy was injured. Everyone knew he was faking his injury, which was all the more irritating. Secondly, Hufflepuff played differently than Slytherin, which meant that all the tactics that Wood had planned were half useless. Thirdly, it was down pouring. Auden was already soaked before she could even get on her broom. It was nearly impossible to see and it was cold and windy on top of it. Auden could barely see her teammates, the Quaffle, or the goal posts. She didn't know the score or what was happening during the game. She couldn't hear Lee's commentary over the wind. She was basically diving for anything that was red and circular and throwing it at anything that looked remotely like a goalpost blocked by someone in a yellow robe.

Eventually, George appeared in front of her, cutting her off and signaling for her to land. "Harry fell off his broom," he yelled. "There was a dementor."

Auden's mouth fell open and she followed George towards the ground, where the rest of the team was crowded around Harry, who was lying on the ground.

"Dumbledore slowed his fall," George explained to Auden, "but I don't know how much it helped..."

Auden paled at the sight of Harry's unconscious body as Dumbledore hurried through the growing crowd of fans and players.

"Can't we have a rematch?" Auden heard a voice saying behind her. She turned and peered through the rain to see Cedric Diggory pleading with Madame Hooch and holding the Snitch in his hand. Apparently Hufflepuff had won.

"Why would you want a rematch, Ced?" one of his teammates asked in confusion as he passed. "You caught the Snitch. We won!"

"He is right," Madame Hooch said, "no matter the circumstances." She walked away, leaving Cedric looking dejected. He sighed and looked up, meeting Auden's eyes.

"I didn't know he fell," he said. "Or else I would have stopped flying. He was right behind me. It would have been anyone's game if that dementor hadn't shown up. They're not supposed to be on Hogwarts grounds. It's unfair."

"It's not your fault," Auden assured him. She was shaking from a mixture of cold and fear. Her teeth were practically chattering.

Cedric half smiled. "I still think we should have a rematch. Maybe I can talk to Madame Hooch about it some more later and convince her…."

Auden shook her head. "I don't think that'll happen. Even Wood will admit you won fair and square." She glanced at the Gryffindor captain and sighed. He looked completely shell-shocked. "Eventually."

Cedric chewed on the inside of his cheek. "I still don't feel that it was fair, personally."

"Don't worry about it," Auden told him. She smirked. "There will be other matches where Gryffindor can abysmally embarrass Hufflepuff."

Cedric actually laughed. He held out his hand "Cedric Diggory," he said.

"Auden Parker," Auden answered, shaking his hand. She knew who he was, of course. Nearly everyone did. He was a prefect, he was popular, and he was extremely good looking. She glanced over her shoulder then to see that Dumbledore had just maneuvered Harry onto a stretcher and was sending him up to the hospital wing. "I should go," she said.

Cedric nodded. "I'll see you around, then."

Auden smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure you will." She waved before turning and following her teammates, who were following Harry up to the hospital wing.

"What did Diggory want?" Fred asked with a scowl when she caught up to him and George.

Auden shot him a look. "What's got your wand in a knot?"

"Nothing," Fred said all too quickly. "It's just that we could have won this match if Diggory hadn't gone and caught that Snitch."

"What did you want him to do?" Auden asked. "He didn't know Harry had fallen."

"Sure," Fred said sarcastically. "That's what he wants us to think."

"Fred, stop being so miserable about it. I'm not happy we lost either, but personally, I'm more concerned about Harry's safety right now. Aren't you?"

"Yeah, you're right," Fred sighed after a moment. "I guess I _could_ have been overreacting."

"You _could _have been?" Auden asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's all I'll admit to," Fred said.

Auden sighed. "Good enough, I suppose."

* * *

"He looks a bit peaky, doesn't he?" Ron asked as he, Auden, Hermione, Fred, George, Angelina, and Katie crowded around Harry's bed. Wood had gone straight into the changing rooms, still in a zombie-like state. Auden actually felt a bit envious. He was probably going to take a nice warm shower while she, on the other hand, shivered uncontrollably. It didn't matter, though. Harry was more important.

"Peaky?" Fred asked. "What do you expect? He fell over a hundred feet!"

"Yeah, come on, Ron," George added. "Let's walk you off the Astronomy tower-,"

"—and see what you'd look like," Fred finished.

"Probably a lot better than he normally does," Harry suddenly said, opening his eyes slowly.

"Harry!" Auden exclaimed.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked as Harry propped himself up on his pillow.

Harry shrugged. "I've felt worse."

"You gave us a good scare, mate," George said, moving to sit in the chair beside Harry's bed.

"There was a dementor…." Harry said.

"We know. Dumbledore was furious," Hermione said. "I've never seen him so angry."

"What happened? With the match, I mean," Harry said.

"Well, no one blames you," Hermione said hesitantly.

"We lost," Auden said bluntly. Fred let out a laugh, but tried to pass it off as a cough. Auden's mouth twitched into a smile.

"We lost?" Harry asked. He looked devastated.

"Diggory didn't notice you fell," Fred said, glancing at Auden, who nodded.

"He feels really bad. He wanted a rematch but I doubt that'll happen. I also told him there'll be plenty of opportunities for us to crush Hufflepuff, which there will be, so don't feel too badly, Harry."

Fred chuckled and ruffled her hair. It didn't work out too well since her hair was wet from the rain. "That's my girl," he said, still chuckling. Auden rolled her eyes.

"Even Oliver admits Hufflepuff won fair and square," Katie sighed.

"I knew he would," Auden nodded.

"Where is Wood, anyway?" Harry asked.

"In the showers," Fred said. "We think he's trying to drown himself."

"There's one more bit of bad news, Harry," Ron said.

"Your broomstick…." Hermione said, sighing, "flew into the Whomping Willow."

"Oh, well, I'll have to go get it then," Harry said. He was trying to sound nonchalant, but Auden heard his voice shake slightly.

"It won't be there," Angelina whispered sadly.

"Well, it will be," Fred shrugged, "but in pieces."

Harry blinked up at them a few times before letting out a groan.

"We're so sorry, Harry," Auden whispered.

"It's not your fault. It's mine for not being able to stay conscious when a dementor's around."

"Dumbledore won't let it happen again," Hermione said.

"Yeah, you'll be fine for next time," George added. "The Dementors won't come back. Dumbledore will see to it, like Hermione said."

Harry didn't look as if he believed them, but before anyone could say anything else, Madame Pomfrey ordered them out of the room.

* * *

When the Quidditch finals finally arrived, Auden could tell Harry was determined to win. Everyone was, for that matter. Even Fred and George were serious.

The team played their very hardest and the match ended in a Gryffindor victory. The team landed their brooms and everyone was hugging each other. Fred hugged Auden and spun her around. Then, they all crowded around Harry, cheering. Auden couldn't have been any happier.

Fred and George spread the word about a party back in the common room before hurrying off to sneak food from the kitchens, leaving Auden to walk back to the castle with Angelina and Katie. Just then, Cedric came up behind her and grabbed her arm.

"Hey," she said, turning around and grinning.

"Hey. I just wanted to say that you did a really good job today. Those were some pretty impressive goals you scored."

"Thanks," Auden answered. "You're a great player yourself."

Cedric smiled. "Thanks." He cleared his throat. "I'm glad Gryffindor got to win the cup. Especially since I still feel badly about what happened during the last match we played against each other."

"Cedric, that wasn't your fault," Auden laughed. "Nobody holds it against you."

"I think the twins do," Cedric shrugged. "I saw them shoot me a few glares after that match."

"Don't let it get to you," Auden told him, shaking her head. "Sometimes they let Quidditch get in the way of their ability to think rationally."

Cedric smiled. "I can understand. Anyway, I guess I'll see you around. You go celebrate. You deserve it."

"Thanks, Cedric," Auden smiled.

"Don't mention it. And congratulations." He nodded at Angelina and Katie before turning to leave. As he walked away, Angelina and Katie gaped at Auden.

"What?" she asked them, continuing the walk towards the common room.

"Cedric, that's what!" cried Angelina. "He's a sixth year!"

"And I'm a third year, Katie's a fourth year, and you're a fifth year. Glad we established that." Auden smirked.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you don't think he's cute," Angelina said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well…" began Auden, half smiling. He _was_ good looking.

"Seems to me like he likes you or something, Aud," Katie told her.

"Me? No way," Auden laughed. "Like you said, he's sixteen. He's turning seventeen this year. He wouldn't like me. I only just turned fourteen."

"Yeah, it's only three years," Katie said reasonably. "It won't look so bad when you're older."

"When we're older? It's like you're planning my life out with Cedric in it," Auden laughed.

"Well it sure does look like he has an interest in you," Angelina said, nudging her. "Why else would he make such an effort to talk to you and even compliment you?"

"I don't know!" Auden laughed, throwing up her hands. "I've spoken to him once! Well, twice counting just now."

"Maybe he _wants_ to talk to you more," Angelina said.

Auden just smiled and just shook her head. They didn't have any more time to talk because they had reached the common room, which was in complete party mode. Fred and George had snuck food out of the kitchens, and everyone was happy and having a good time.

"You were great today," Auden told Fred, taking the butterbeer he offered her. "You even saved me from getting my head cracked open by a Bludger."

"Thanks, and you know, that's my job to make sure this wonderful head of yours stays in one piece," Fred answered, patting Auden's head. She smiled and glanced towards the other side of the room. Hermione was raising an eyebrow at Auden and smirking. Auden rolled her eyes, mouthed "no", and looked away. She wished that Hermione would stop insisting that she and Fred liked each other. Even worse, she had gotten Ron involved and Even Ron had agreed that he wouldn't be surprised if she and Fred dated. It was getting annoying.

_But what do they know? _Auden thought. The relationship she had was completely platonic. Whatever Hermione was currently thinking about it being otherwise, she was totally wrong.


	13. Chapter 12: Vacation

It was the second day of summer vacation and Auden was packing. She was going on a vacation with her family to Italy for three whole weeks. Apparently, the Weasley's vacation the summer before had inspired her own parents to plan one for them. According to them, a family vacation would be good for them.

If Auden was honest, she was excited to get away for a while, despite the fact that she would miss the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione terribly. Her third year at Hogwarts had ended up with Hagrid's hippogryff, Buckbeak, nearly getting executed, Ron being pulled to the Shrieking Shack by Sirius Black in his dog Animagus form, Scabbers turning out to be a man named Peter Pettigrew, who was supposed to be dead, and Sirius Black being innocent. Oh, and Professor Lupin was a werewolf. Snape had let it get out to the whole school and Lupin had resigned. Basically, the end of the school year had ended in another terrifying adventure for Harry, Ron and Hermione, and Auden was actually surprised she wasn't used to it by now.

"I can't believe you're leaving, Aud," Ron said, shaking his head. He was over Auden's house, helping her pack for her trip. "I don't think we've been apart for this long before…well, except for when I went to Egypt last summer," Ron said, handing Auden a stack of jeans.

"And look at that, you lived to tell the tale," Auden said, smiling as she took the jeans. She put them in her suitcase, then turned to hug Ron. "You'll be fine. It's only for three weeks, and Hermione's coming tomorrow. Plus, I'll be home in time for when you pick up Harry, and of course for the Quidditch World Cup. I wouldn't miss that for the world."

Ron smiled. "We're all going to miss you, especially Fred," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, shut up." Auden smacked him with her pillow.

"Seriously, though, yesterday when you were over, he was looking at you as if you were the best thing on Earth."

"Well, aren't I?" Auden joked. Ron stuck out his tongue and Auden laughed. "I'm kidding."

"Aud, I really think he likes you."

"I don't have time for this right now," she sighed, turning to face him. "I mean, I thought something was going on between us last summer. Well, I thought there was potential at least, but it's been a year and it hasn't really gone anywhere. Things went back to normal after that day."

"What do you mean it hasn't gone anywhere? If I'm noticing the way he's looking at you, then it must be a drastic change," Ron snorted.

"Yeah, drastic for you because you don't notice anything," Auden giggled. "But to everyone else...nothing much has happened. And...Katie and Angelina think Cedric Diggory likes me as well." Auden shrugged and crossed her arms.

"They do? Why?"

"Because he kept making an effort to talk to me last year. I think it's silly. He's seventeen. Why would he want to date me? And I guess that applies to Fred as well. He's only a year younger than Cedric and he has Angelina, who's obviously liked him for quite some time."

"I still say he likes _you,_" Ron argued. He paused. "Just say he and Cedric do both like you. Which one would you choose?"

Auden sighed. "I don't know. I mean, Cedric _is_ cute." Ron opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "I know, I know, _all _the girls say that, but that's because it's true. And it's not just that, but he's a great Quidditch player and he's smart and really nice. It really upset him when he caught the Snitch during that one match where the Dementors showed up."

"And what about Fred?" Ron asked.

"Fred...has always been there for me," Auden said, sitting down on her bed and resting her chin in her hands. "He's funny and like Cedric, he's also a good Quidditch player and also smart. He just doesn't always see it. They're both great guys, but I don't even know why I'm talking about this and which one I'd pick. It's not even definite if either one of them have feelings for me." She sighed. "I guess I'll just have to see what happens, huh?"

Ron nodded. "I think that's your best bet."

Auden stood up and turned back to her suitcase. "Well, I guess I'm done packing. I'm going to go say goodbye to your family now since we're leaving in a few hours."

"You make it sound like you're never coming back," Ron said. Auden just made a face at him.

They walked to the Burrow together, Auden thinking about what Ron had said about Fred the whole way. She couldn't help but wonder if he was right, but she wasn't going to think about that right now.

When they walked in the front door, Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen, cooking lunch. Ginny was there as well, helping out.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley, I came to say goodbye before I leave," Auden said.

Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly. "I'm glad you came! Have fun, and I hope you enjoy yourself." She pulled Auden into a tight hug.

Auden then turned to Ginny and hugged her. "Bye Ginny, I'll see you in three weeks."

"Fred and George are in their room," said Mrs. Weasley from the sink.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." Auden turned and raced up the stairs, leaving Ron stealing an apple from the fruit bowl on the kitchen table. On the way to Fred and George's room, she knocked on Percy's door. He opened it a crack.

"Hello, Auden. I'm in the middle of an important letter so if you could just-,"

"I'm just here to say bye before I leave," Auden told him, interrupting him before he could say any more.

"Oh, right. Well, have fun in…"

"Italy," Auden finished, raising her eyebrows amusedly.

"Right, Italy, well have fun." Then, Percy shut the door in her face.

Auden giggled before continuing up the stairs to Fred and George's room. She could hear explosions coming from inside, so she knocked loudly. The explosions stopped, the door opened a crack, and George poked his face out. "Auden! Come in!" he exclaimed.

Auden stepped into the room, causing Fred to look up from the floor. When he saw her, he jumped up and hugged her. Auden's face was smushed up against his shoulder.

"You can let go at any time, mate, preferably before she suffocates," George said.

"Right, sorry. Just happy to see you, Aud," Fred smiled, letting her go.

"You saw me yesterday…" Auden said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I know. But I'm always happy to see you," he shrugged.

Auden laughed. "I'm always happy to see you too. What are you working on?"

"Well…" Fred glanced at George, who nodded.

"Tell her. I'd say she's pretty trustworthy. I think we can let her in on our secret." He grinned.

"I would hope so," Auden said. "You guys have known me for what, fourteen years?"

Fred laughed and led Auden over to a table covered with papers, a pot, and numerous bottles. "We're making candy…but it's not just any candy." He picked up a rectangular candy that was half orange and half purple. "Drum roll, please, George."

George began hitting the table with his hands.

"This," Fred said dramatically, "is a Puking Pastil."

"And what does this Puking Pastil do?" Auden asked.

"If you bite the purple side, you instantly start puking. Then, you eat the orange side, and just like that," Fred snapped his fingers, "you stop."

"Wow, sounds cool," Auden said.

"We're also making ones that give you a nosebleed and another that gives you a fever," Fred continued.

"They're perfect for getting you out of class," George added. "We haven't gotten the recipe quite right yet, but we're working on it. Do you want to test one?" He smiled goofily.

Auden laughed. "I think I'll pass for now and wait until you get them right. I can't afford to leave for Italy with a fever that won't go away."

Fred's face fell instantly as she mentioned her trip. "Oh, that's right, you're leaving today."

"Don't look so devastated, Freddie. I'll be back in three weeks," Auden assured him. "It'll fly by and I can write you all the time. I promise I will."

Fred smiled a little. It seemed to Auden like he was studying every detail of her face as if he thought he would forget what she looked like in three weeks. She stepped over to him and hugged him again. "Don't look so depressed, Fred, I'm serious. I'm coming back. Honestly, you look as if I just told you I'm leaving for good."

"He wouldn't be able to handle it," George said, rolling his eyes.

"And you would?" Auden asked, pulling away from Fred. She didn't notice the look Fred was giving George, silently telling him to shut up.

George smiled and shook his head. "Truthfully, no. I'd miss you too much."

Auden smiled before giving him a hug too. "I'd miss you and Fred too much as well." She let go of him and scanned the worktable. "When I come back, I expect to see some progress on these," she grinned.

"Of course," Fred said with a slight bow. "Anything for you."

"As it should be," Auden giggled. "Anyway, I should be leaving soon, so I should probably get back home."

"I'll miss you," Fred said.

Auden met his eyes and smiled at how sincere he loooked. Of course, she knew Fred meant what he said, but the look in his eyes practically melted her heart and showed just how much he would miss her.

"I'll miss you, too," she whispered, giving him a half-smile. She crossed the room to the door and gave the twins one last wave before heading down the stairs and across the yard. If she had turned around and looked up at the twins' bedroom window, she would have seen Fred watching her leave, looking like he would never see her again.

* * *

She was gorgeous. That was the first thought that came into Fred's mind when Auden came over the day before she left for Italy. He had come downstairs at the sound of her laughter to find her being hugged and spun around by first Bill and then Charlie, who were home for the summer and both coming to the Quidditch World Cup.

"Of course you two arrive the day before I leave," Auden said, stepping away from Bill and Charlie and grinning as Fred leaned against the doorframe.

"We have the whole rest of the summer to catch up," Charlie shrugged. "You'll be ready to get rid of us by the time August rolls around."

Auden giggled and Fred found himself smiling. He had gone unnoticed so far and he wanted to keep it that way. He just couldn't stop looking at her. He remembered the feelings he had felt last summer at the Leaky Cauldron and they were suddenly rushing back. He had done a good job of pushing them away during the school year, but now he couldn't. They were rushing through him and he couldn't push them away even if he wanted to.

Just then, Auden turned and noticed him in the doorway. "Freddie!" she cried, running over to him and giving him a hug. It was weird. Usually, whenever she had hugged him in the past, he has returned it without thinking too much into it. But now, his brain was practically buzzing with thoughts. Thoughts about how well Auden seemed to fit in his arms, thoughts about the scent of her hair-vanilla, by the way-and thoughts about the feeling of her arms around him and her cheek pressed to his chest. The same feelings from the summer before, but worse. Or better, depending on how you looked at it.

"You haven't seriously called me Freddie in forever," he told her when she pulled away. He smiled and ruffled her hair, trying to play it cool.

"So?" she asked. "Do you mind?"

"No, I was just pointing it out."

"Where's George?"

"He should be down here soon."

"You know, Aud," Charlie commented, throwing himself down on the couch. "You're really growing up. You're a lot different than the last time I saw you."

"It's called puberty, Charlie," Bill snorted, sitting down in an armchair and making himself comfortable.

"I know that," Charlie said, rolling his eyes. "I was just commenting on it. I guess that's what happens when I don't see you for a while. It's more obvious. For instance, I bet Fred hasn't noticed a thing. He's around her all the time and he and George practically consider her one of them. He's probably never considered her a girl in the first place."

Fred blushed and scowled at Charlie. "Of course I have! It's Ron that probably never noticed." It was the truth. Charlie was wrong on two accounts. Fred had always known Auden was a girl, and he had noticed the changes she had undergone in the past few years.

"Well, thanks for noticing," Auden giggled, punching his arm. He smiled as his stomach flipped. Merlin, he was losing his mind.

He didn't exactly know where the sudden feelings had come from. He had thought the moment in the Leaky Cauldron last summer was some kind of fluke, but now he knew it wasn't. He liked Auden Parker. He had gone from feeling like Auden's big brother to feeling butterflies when he saw her. Butterflies when he looked into her beautiful brown eyes, when he heard her laugh, and when she said his name. When she hugged him, it was a whole different story. His stomach basically fell through the floor. He loved that she was willing to pull pranks on people with him, but she was also sensible with a good head on her shoulders. She was kind, honest, and gentle, never mind the fact that she could make anyone laugh. She hated to see anyone upset but was always there to comfort them. On the other hand, when she was upset herself, she never let anyone see.

After Auden had left for her house that night, Fred and George had been getting ready for bed when George spoke. "You like her, don't you?"

"Like who?" Fred had asked.

George just stared. "Professor McGonagall," he replied sarcastically. "No, you dummy…Auden!"

Fred said nothing. He should have known his twin would pick up on things. He suspected he had picked up on them last summer, but then Fred had done a pretty good job of brushing it off. He thought he had done the same today, but clearly he hadn't.

"Fred, I'm your twin brother. I can tell you like her, but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. You were looking at her tonight like she was the only thing you could see."

Fred still didn't say anything. Finally, he looked at his twin. "You're right," he whispered. "But it's relatively recent. As in...today. I can't help it. I just came downstairs, saw her, and that was it."

"You make it sound so sudden, but if you ask me, your feelings have been developing for a year now."

Fred sighed. Again, George was right.

George grinned, knowing just how right he was, but also because he was happy for his brother. "She'd be great for you, Fred, she really would be."

"She's leaving tomorrow," Fred said.

"For three weeks," George laughed. "Not forever."

Fred sighed and stretched out on his bed, crossing his arms behind his head. Maybe Auden was only leaving for three weeks, but Fred still wouldn't be able to see her or hear her voice. Maybe he was being a little bit over dramatic, but what could he say? He liked the girl. At least he had the Quidditch World Cup to look forward to, and of course, Auden's letters. After all, she had promised to write, and that was another thing he liked about Auden. She always kept her promises.

"Do you think I have a chance with her?" he suddenly asked, rolling onto his side and looking at George.

"Of course. Why not?" George shrugged. "You know her extremely well, you're smart, talented, funny. Girls at school would love to go out with you. Angelina's had a thing for you for years."

"Yeah, but we're talking about Auden," Fred said.

"Yeah, and I'm saying that you're a catch and girls would love to date you...including Auden." He hesitated. "And I'm also inadvertantly saying that I'm a catch since I'm your twin."

"And that Auden would love to date _you_?" Fred asked. He was teasing, but the thought also made his stomach churn.

George shook his head. "You and I may be identical in a lot of ways, but we're not the same person, Fred. Auden knows that. She knows our differences and I really think you'd be the better one of us for her. The one she'd be more attracted to."

Fred nodded and rolled onto his back again. He stared up at the ceiling and inhaled as he closed his eyes and tried to forget that in two days, Auden was leaving him for three whole weeks. He didn't think he could stand it, and he didn't care if he was being dramatic. He liked her a lot and he was going to miss her terribly.


	14. Chapter 13: That's My Girl

Three weeks later, Auden and her family returned from Italy. She was incredibly glad to be home, even though she had enjoyed her vacation. It was great to spend time with her family, especially considering her brother was leaving for Romania at the end of the summer.

She had just reached her room and started unpacking when the door banged open. She jumped, but relaxed when she saw it was Fred and George.

"Auden!" yelled Fred, hugging her and spinning her around. "You're back!"

"I am!" she giggled as she returned the hug. She then hugged George before giving them a fake exasperated look. "And I've only been back for two minutes and you two are already here."

"We missed you," shrugged Fred.

"I missed you too!" Auden smiled and turned to finish unpacking. "Guess what?"

"What?" the twins asked.

"The Quidditch World Cup is tomorrow!"

"We know!" answered Fred and George.

"Don't get me wrong, I loved being on vacation, but I'm so excited for the match," Auden sighed. "Has your dad gone to pick Harry up yet?" she asked.

"No, I think him and Ron are leaving soon. Do you want come?" Fred asked.

"Of course I do!" Auden exclaimed. She hadn't seen Harry in so long. She wondered how the Muggles were treating him.

"Hurry up and finish unpacking, then," Fred said, flopping onto her bed. "The sooner you finish, the sooner we can leave."

Auden tossed a pile of clothes on Fred's face. "Don't rush me," she mock-scolded.

Fred laughed and swatted the clothes away. "Get your smelly laundry off my face."

"Get your smelly body off my bed," Auden retaliated calmly.

"No, I don't think I will," Fred responded.

"The more you two continue to bicker, the more time we're wasting," George pointed out with a smile.

"You're right, George," Auden said, sticking her nose in the air. "Besides, I don't have time to argue with Fred and stoop down to his level."

"Oh, come on, Aud," Fred said, as Auden smiled, "you know you love it."

Auden didn't answer. Instead, she dumped another pile of clothes on Fred's face. He shot his arm out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down onto the bed with him as she squealed in shock.

"I thought you wanted me to hurry up and finish unpacking," she said as Fred pulled her to him so that her back was pressed into his chest.

"I do," he answered.

"Then you have to let me go," she said, trying not to notice Fred's nose pressed against her neck, or his arms locked around her. It was making her heart pound.

"Or George could just finish unpacking for you," Fred muttered.

"Not happening," George said, flopping into Auden's desk chair. "I'm going to make myself comfortable while you two cuddle and figure out how Auden's going to finish unpacking before we're all a hundred years old."

"We're not cuddling," Auden argued. "Fred's just trapping me." She turned her head to look at him. "Let me go," she ordered, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth. "I have to unpack. I'm serious this time."

Fred sighed dramatically. "Okay, okay, fine." He let her go and Auden got to her feet as Fred rolled onto his back. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "You've heard about Harry's cousin, haven't you?"

"Dudley?" Auden asked, glancing at him as she closed her now empty suitcase. "Yeah, he's told me about him. Why?"

"Well, George and I have heard about him, too," Fred said, looking at her. "He's apparently supposed to be on a diet, which means he's been deprived of the food he clearly loves."

"Like candy," George added, swiveling around rapidly in Auden's desk chair.

"Don't tell me you're going to give him a Puking Pastile,"Auden said, putting her hands on her hips.

"We're not," Fred said.

"Good, because-"

"We're going to give him a Ton-Tongue Toffee-" Fred interrupted, producing one from his pocket and waving it in front of Auden's face with pride. "George and I perfected them while you were gone. They make the tongue of whoever eats them grow. We're not sure how long yet, but we're estimating about three or four feet. We need to test them on other people besides ourselves to make sure."

"Fred, no. That's terribly mean. Besides, I don't think he'd take it. He and his parents are afraid of us from what I've heard. It won't work."

"Ah, but if I drop it accidentally..."

"He'll still know it came from you...or one of us. It doesn't matter. It's mean."

"Come on, Aud, lighten up," Fred said with a grin, tossing the Ton-Tongue toffee at her. It bounced off her shoulder, but she ignored it.

"You know I don't mind your pranks, but when they put an innocent boy in danger-"

"Innocent? Danger?" Fred gasped, putting a hand to his chest as he sat up. "Dudley isn't innocent, Aud. And we're not putting him in danger."

"If his tongue grows to three feet long..." Auden began.

"George and I have tested these on ourselves," Fred said, standing up and stretching. "We're fine. We aren't dead, we aren't injured, and we managed to return our tongues to normal. Dudley will be fine, but it'll be a laugh while the effects last."

Auden sighed and crossed her arms as Fred hugged her. "Trust us, Aud," he whispered.

"Fine," she muttered.

"And not a word to Mum," Fred added. "She already got rid of all of our order forms for our products."

"She did?" Auden asked sympathetically.

"Yeah," George said, getting up from Auden's desk chair. "We'll make more, though. Not even Mum's going to stop us from opening our own business."

"It's really what you want to do, then? Open a joke shop?" Auden asked.

The twins nodded. "Completely. Just as soon as we have enough money and we're out of school."

Auden smiled. "You'll be wonderful at it."

"Thanks, Aud," Fred said, returning the smile and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

The three of them then walked next door to the Burrow, where Mr. Weasley and Ron were getting ready to leave for the Dursley's house.

"I've had Harry's fireplace hooked up to the Floo Network just for tonight," Mr. Weasley explained. "I'll go first, Fred and George can go next, then Auden, then Ron. Sound good?"

They all nodded. Auden waited as Mr. Weasley, then the twins disappeared into the green flames.

"Your turn," Ron said, gesturing to the flowerpot filled with Floo Powder.

Auden took a small handful and tossed it into the flames. "4 Privet Drive!" she yelled, stepping into the fireplace. She felt the familiar spinning sensation, but when she stopped, she felt herself abruptly collide with someone.

"Ouch, Aud," Fred groaned. "You just elbowed me in the stomach."

"Well, what are you still doing in the fireplace? What are _all of us_ still doing in the fireplace?"

"Harry's relatives use a fake fire," Mr. Weasley explained. "The real fireplace is boarded up. Harry just explained it to us before you got here. I think I'm going to have to blast us out."

Just then, Ron arrived, smashing into Auden and roughly forcing her even closer to Fred.

"Oi, Ron, you almost smashed Auden into the wall," Fred said, putting his arms around Auden to catch her. "It's a good thing I was here to protect her."

"Shut up," Ron muttered. He glanced around. "What's going on? What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?"

"No," Fred said sarcastically, "this is exactly where we wanted to end up."

"Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here," George added.

Auden giggled into Fred's chest and he smiled down at her. "Glad we could be of some amusement in this time of frustration," he said.

Auden didn't have time to answer, because Mr. Weasley had started yelling through the fireplace at Harry.

"Stand back! I'm going to blast us out! One…two…three!" With a bang, the boarded up fireplace opening exploded, causing the four Weasleys and Auden to topple onto the floor.

"Auden, you're squishing me," said a muffled voice. Auden then realized she had fallen on top of Fred.

"Sorry, sorry!" she exclaimed, standing up and brushing herself off.

"No worries," answered Fred, getting to his feet as well.

Mr. Weasley was now introducing himself to Harry's aunt and uncle. He then instructed Harry to get his things.

"We'll help," offered the twins as they followed Harry out of the room.

About a minute after they left, a large boy around Auden's age entered the room. Auden and Ron smirked at each other. This had to be Dudley. Dudley kept his eyes on Auden, Ron and Mr. Weasley as he waddled sideways across the room to hide behind his parents. The room was filled with a terribly awkward silence.

"This is my son, Ron," Mr. Weasley finally said, "and his friend, Auden. They're the same age as Harry. And from what I've heard, Dudley is also their age, is that right?"

Harry's aunt and uncle nodded slowly as Dudley cowered even more. Harry had been right: Dudley did look like a pig in a wig.

Mr. Weasley nodded. "Fantastic," he said with a smile. Auden knew he could feel the tension in the room as well and was doing the best he could to be polite.

Just then, the twins and Harry returned with Harry's things, sparing everyone else from any more small talk.

"All set then?" asked Mr. Weasley. "Fred, into the fireplace now, please."

Fred hadn't taken two steps before a bunch of Ton-Tongue Toffees were accidentally-on-purpose spilled from his pocket. "Oh no, hang on, sorry," he said as he knelt down to pick them up. He collected all but one that was resting right next to the leg of the coffee table. Auden looked at Dudley. He was staring right at it. He saw it, but would he eat it?

After Fred disappeared into the fire, George left with Harry's trunk. Then, Ron disappeared as well.

"Auden, you next," said Mr. Weasley.

Before Auden could move, there was a gagging sound. She turned to see Dudley, lying on the ground with his tongue flapping out and growing bigger and bigger. Auden and Harry looked at each other, amused. Even though Auden had worried about Dudley, she had to admit that his growing tongue looked hilarious. She felt terrible, but she had to at least crack a smile.

"What did you do to my son?" roared Harry's uncle. He was clearly not amused, and rightly so.

"Nothing," Mr. Weasley said quickly. "It must have been Fred, my son. He likes to play jokes. I am terribly sorry. I can fix this, though, if you'll let me see his tongue…"

Harry's uncle was now throwing glass figurines. One of them narrowly missed Auden's head and shattered against the fireplace behind her.

"Harry, Auden, get out, leave…now!" yelled Mr. Weasley.

Harry grabbed Auden's arm and dragged her into the fire, where they were whisked away to the Burrow.

"What happened? Did he eat it?" Fred asked excitedly, helping Auden up.

"Yes, he did, and his parents are hysterical," Auden said, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "Your dad's trying to put him right, but I told you it was a bad idea."

"No, it wasn't," Fred laughed. George was laughing as well from the kitchen table where Bill and Charlie were also sitting.

"His dad was throwing figurines," Auden said, frowning, only causing the twins to laugh more.

As Ron began introducing Harry to Bill and Charlie, Fred stopped laughing and turned to Auden. "So, what'd you really think?"

"It was a terribly mean thing to do," Auden said. "That _is_ what I really think."

"What else do you really think?" Fred asked. "If you won't tell me, then you leave me no choice but to force you..." Then, he tickled her and Auden had to laugh. She was squealing and grabbing Fred's wrists in an attempt to pry them away, when Mr. Weasley appeared. Fred stopped tickling Auden and the room was silent.

"That wasn't funny, Fred! What did you two give that boy?" Mr. Weasley asked angrily, his eyes shifting from Fred to George.

"Nothing," Fred said innocently. "I just dropped it. I never told him to go and eat it."

"You dropped it on purpose!" Mr. Weasley yelled. "You knew he would eat it! You knew he was on a diet!"

Auden looked at the ground. She never saw Mr. Weasley get angry. Even though he wasn't _terribly_ angry now, it seemed like he was. And she felt partly responsible.

"How long did his tongue get?" George asked eagerly, causing Auden to look up again. As ashamed as she was to admit it, she was curious.

"It was four feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!" Mr. Weasley exlaimed as the entire room broke into laughter. "It isn't funny! That sort of behavior seriously underminds wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles and my own sons-"

"We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle!" Fred exclaimed.

"No, we gave it to him because he's a bullying git," George said. "Isn't he, Harry?"

"Yeah, he is, Mr. Weasley," Harry said earnestly.

"That's not the point!" Mr. Weasley said. "You wait until I tell your mother."

"Tell me what?"

Auden spun around in horror. Mrs. Weasley had just come in the back door with Auden's mother, Ginny and Hermione and was staring at Mr. Weasley expectantly. He blinked a few times. Auden knew that he hadn't actually planned on telling Mrs. Weasley anything.

"Ron," Hermione began quickly, "why don't you show Harry where he'll be sleeping?"

"He knows where he'll be-," Ron began, but shut up when Hermione gave him a look. "Er, come on," he muttered to Harry leading the way towards the stairs as Hermione and Ginny followed.

"We'll go, too," George said, gesturing to himself and Fred.

"No, you two stay where you are," Mrs. Weasley ordered.

"And you too, Auden," Mrs. Parker said as Auden blushed. Her mother had known Fred and George had come over earlier. She must have assumed the three of them had hatched a plan together.

"Now, what happened, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"It's nothing. Fred and George just-but I've had words with them."

"I hope it's nothing more to do with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" Auden asked in a whisper, leaning closer to Fred.

"Yeah," he whispered back, "we named our future joke shop while you were gone. And we perfected a ton of other products that Mum threw away. We had a huge argument..."

"Guess I missed a lot," she whispered apologetically, giving his hand a comforting squeeze.

Fred simply shrugged as Mr. Weasley finally explained to Mrs. Weasley what had happened to Dudley. She instantly blew up at Fred and George, resulting in another argument. Auden felt extremely awkward. She had been around when Mrs. Weasley scolded the twins before, but she had never witnessed a full blown argument like this one. She almost wanted to leave, but her mother had told her to stay and besides, she wasn't going to leave the twins to get yelled at alone.

Once Mrs. Weasley had gotten through yelling at the twins about their "poor career choice" and "lack of OWLs", and once the twins had finished telling her that a joke shop was what they were passionate about and that they didn't need a lot of OWLs to successfully open and run one, Auden's mother was finally able to get a word in.

"Did you have something to do with this?" she asked, turning to Auden with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, no, not really, but I knew about it and I saw the toffee on the floor, but I didn't say anything," Auden said, her cheeks red. She couldn't lie to her mother; she hated to lie.

"How could you not say anything to stop that poor boy from eating it?"

"I was just kind of hoping he wasn't stupid enough to eat random candy off the ground, but I guess he is that stupid," Auden shrugged as Fred and George laughed hysterically. Mrs. Weasley glared at them and they stopped at once.

Mrs. Parker was still glaring at Auden when Fred chimed in. "It's more my fault than hers, Mrs. Parker. Don't be angry with her. She told us not to do it. She was actually really worried, but I did it anyway."

"Well, I still think you should have said something, Aud," her mom said.

"I'm sorry," Auden replied.

After Mrs. Weasley had finished scolding the twins a little more, she put them and Auden to work setting the table outside.

"I'm sorry you had to get yelled at too," Fred told Auden as they walked out to the yard. "You didn't really do anything."

"It's okay…I mean I probably should have said something…"

"But…?" Fred prompted her.

"But, to be honest…seeing Harry's cousin's tongue reach four feet long made my day," Auden finished.

"That's my girl," Fred laughed.

Auden smiled. "Fred?"

"Yeah?" he asked, glancing at her.

"What your mother said...don't let her make you feel stupid or useless. She cares about you, which is why she gets upset, but I think she can be-well, I just don't want you to let her get you down. If you want to open a joke shop, then do it. You and George are smart. Very smart. And amazing. And _talented_. I just don't want you to think for a second that you aren't, okay?"

Fred looked down at her for a moment. Auden couldn't quite read his expression, but she thought for a second that she saw his eyes water slightly before he swallowed, blinked and nodded. "Thanks, Aud," he whispered, reaching out and squeezing her hand. "That means a lot, honestly."

She nodded. "Tell George for me, too," she grinned.

Fred smiled. "Of course."

Dinner was amazing as usual. Mrs. Weasley was a fabulous cook and the Dudley incident was forgotten quickly. Once, Auden looked up to see Fred staring at her. She crossed her eyes at him and went back to half-listening to Percy, who was chewing her ear off about Barty Crouch and how amazing he was.

"So," Fred said to Auden after dinner, once everyone had helped clear the plates away.

"So what?" Auden asked with a grin, absentmidedly starting to wander in the direction of the pond in the Weasley's backyard.

Fred followed her, his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face. "I'm so sorry you had to sit next to Percy at dinner. I can only imagine what he was talking to you about."

"I can only imagine, too, because I wasn't really paying attention," Auden giggled.

Fred laughed and reached out to gently punch her shoulder. They reached the pond and came to a stop at the edge of the water.

"I'm glad you're finally back from your vacation," Fred finally said. "I missed you. Things weren't the same without you here."

"I wrote you letters," Auden said, "just as I promised."

"Yeah, but it still wasn't the same as actually having you here." Fred let a puff of air out of his mouth before looking at her.

Auden turned to meet his eyes and she then realized how close they were standing. Her arm was less than an inch from Fred's and that fact was actually giving her goosebumps. That had never happened before.

"I missed you, too," she finally whispered. "A lot."

Fred turned his whole body to face her then, and she slowly found herself mirroring his actions. "Auden," he whispered. "I..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Yeah?" she asked. His nervousness only made her even more curious about what he wanted to say.

"I'm-I think-you're..." He was still standing incredibly close to her and Auden could not only see each and every freckle on his face but the blush creeping up his cheeks.

"I'm what?" she prodded gently, despite the fact that her heart was pounding in her chest.

Fred inclined his head minutely closer to hers. It was almost as if he were about to kiss her, but then he froze and pulled away. "I think you're a really good friend," he blurted. "That's what I was trying to say."

"Oh," Auden said. She felt slightly disappointed, but she couldn't explain why. "Okay, well, so are you."

Fred smiled slightly. "Thanks. Um, well, we should probably get back inside. We have a big day tomorrow so we should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah," Auden agreed quietly. "We should."

Fred nodded and turned for the house. Auden followed him, still trying to process and make sense of what had just happened.

* * *

"I mean, a really good _friend_? George, what was I thinking?" Fred mused as he flopped onto his bed about twenty minutes later. "I mean, she _is_ a good friend, but I don't want to be just her friend anymore and now she probably thinks that's exactly what I want to be."

"Maybe not," George said from his own bed. "You said you almost kissed her, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but then I panicked and froze up and told her what a good _friend_ she is." Fred sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm so stupid, George."

George was quiet for a moment. "I'm sure Auden doesn't think so."

"I'm sure she does," Fred argued.

"She's known you her entire life. She's seen you mess up dozens of times."

"But never like this," Fred told him, letting out a sigh.

"Look, Fred, tomorrow things will be back to normal. You're just making a bigger deal out of this because you messed up and embarrassed and frustrated, but it's one of those things that won't matter in the morning. Trust me on this, okay?"

Fred nodded. "I can't believe I was so close to kissing her," he whispered. "I wanted to so badly."

"What stopped you?" George asked, rolling onto his side and facing his brother. "I mean, fear, obviously, but why were you so scared?"

"I was scared that if I kissed her, she'd push me away or hit me or just take it very badly and then things would be weird for sure. I'm not certain about how she feels about me. I'm scared of being rejected."

"It's a perfectly normal fear," George said. "You're definitely not the only person who's been afraid of that."

"I know," Fred nodded. "I just-I feel like an idiot and a coward. Why couldn't I have just kissed her and told her how I feel? Why couldn't I have just _done _it? She's one of my best friends. And if she cared about our friendship, she wouldn't let things get weird or ruined if she didn't return the feelings."

"But would you?" George asked. "If it turned out she didn't return the feelings, what would you do?"

"I'd be devastated, but I still want her around in some way or another. Being just friends is better than nothing at all."

"Agreed," George nodded.

"The way she stuck up for us after Mum was yelling...she told me that she didn't want us to feel useless. It's like she knew how I was feeling-how _we _were feeling- and took the time to make sure we knew she believed in us." He buried his head in his hands. "It made me like her even more, George. I don't know what to do. She's so important to me and I want to go about this the right way, without losing her forever or without getting myself hurt."

"Maybe you could talk to her," George suggested. "Take things slow. Explain how you feel. See how she reacts and what she's thinking. You'll never know what's going through her head unless you ask."

"True," Fred sighed, running a hand through his hair.

George smiled and stifled a yawn. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted and I'm going to try to get some sleep. You should, too, and don't worry about what happened tonight anymore. I promise that everything will be back to normal in the morning."

Fred didn't answer. Instead, he rolled onto his stomach and closed his eyes, sincerely hoping that George was right.

* * *

**A/N: This author's note is unrelated to this chapter, but I was thinking about something I'm writing in a future chapter and I decided I wanted some opinions and people can just let me know in a review or something...I never specified what song Auden and Fred were dancing to in Chapter 10 but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for a song because I decided it's going to come up later in the story...so far I've thought of "L-O-V-E" by Frank Sinatra or "I'll Be," by Edwin McCain. So if anyone really likes one of those songs or has another idea, feel free to let me know. And of course, if I decide to use the song you suggested I'll give you the credit for the idea :)**


	15. Chapter 14: Cedric Diggory

Someone quietly saying her name was the first thing Auden heard the next morning. The first thing she felt was someone nudging her gently in the side. She opened her eyes a crack and saw Fred standing over her while George attempted to wake Ginny and Hermione.

"Mmph," Auden mumbled as she rolled over. "Go away, Fred."

"Come on, you have to get up and I'm not going away until you do," Fred told her. "Come on, I thought you were so excited about the match."

"Yeah, but not the getting up early part," Auden sighed. "I feel like I just went to bed." She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, just as Ginny and Hermione were getting out of their own beds. She glanced at Fred, who was simply staring at her and she was reminded of the night before. She really could have sworn he had almost kissed her, but it had to have been her imagination. Why would Fred want to kiss her?

She stood up and stretched her arms above her head before looking at Fred again. He was still watching her. "You know," she said with a smile, "if you want us to get ready, you're going to have to leave so we can change."

Fred nodded. "Right, of course," he said quickly, getting to his feet. "I'll see you later, then." With that, he and George headed into the hallway, shutting the door behind them.

Auden pulled on jeans and a dark green long sleeved shirt and was just brushing her hair when Fred came back in.

"What's taking you three so long?" he asked cheerily.

"Why are you so cheerful this morning?" Auden asked, turning to face him. "It's early. You're never even up this early, never mind actually happy about it."

"I'm just excited for the match. I know you're excited, too, deep down, but I believe you just need to be woken up." With that, Fred picked Auden up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Fred Weasley, put me down now!" Auden screamed.

"Nope, not until we get to the kitchen."

When they finally reached the kitchen, Fred set Auden down in a chair. Auden's hair was flopped over her face and she made no attempt to fix it. She just glared at Fred from under the veil of hair.

"Awake now?" Fred asked, grinning.

"Yes, thank you very much," Auden replied, finally pushing her hair away from her face. She rested her head on the table. "I wish I was old enough to Apparate so that I could have slept in."

"Ah, but you would have missed out on the walking experience," Fred said, taking the seat next to her.

"Head off the table, Auden dear," Mrs. Weasley said cheerily, placing breakfast on the table. "Unless, of course, you'd like hair in your eggs."

Breakfast started out uneventfully enough, but just when they were getting ready to leave, Mrs. Weasley spotted a Ton-Tongue Toffee hanging out of George's pocket. Further investigation proved that he and Fred had a whole stash of the candies hidden deep in their pockets. Mrs. Weasley was furious, which led to her summoning them all and tossing them in the trash. Fred and George were positively livid.

"Well, I think we're ready to go," Mr. Weasley said quickly, putting down his fork and standing up. Fred and George snapped their mouths shut and simultaneously stood and walked out the door, leaving everyone behind to be squished into hugs by Mrs. Weasley.

They finally managed to get out the front door and Auden caught up to Fred and George as they all began the long walk to one of the nearby hills where they would catch their portkey.

"Sorry about the Ton-Tongue Toffees," she said tentatively. "You worked really hard on those."

"We'll make more," Fred said. He was trying to be dismissive, but Auden knew he was still upset.

"Your Mum means well," Auden told them.

"She keeps throwing away all of our products and order forms!" Fred exclaimed. "Do you know how much time and effort we put into making them?"

"I do know," Auden insisted. "I do, really, but...your Mum doesn't want to see you two fall flat. Opening a business can be tricky. She doesn't want to see you fail. She worries."

"You don't think we'll fail, though," Fred whispered.

"No," Auden told them. "I don't."

Fred and George cracked identical half-smiles at her words. After they had been walking for about fifteen minutes, Fred turned to Auden. "You know, if this walk is too much for you, you're welcome to a piggy-back ride."

"Are you suggesting I can't handle it?" she teased.

"No, not at all," Fred answered, dramatically grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it. "I just thought you should be treated like the princess you are."

Auden smirked. "So you're saying that you're worthy enough to be princess transportation?"

"Well, yes," Fred answered, grinning. Auden laughed and swatted him before walking on ahead. They had reached the hill and Mr. Weasley had found the portkey at the very top. "Do you want the ride or not?" Fred called. "That's a big hill!" Auden smiled to herself and ignored him. When she got to the top of the hill, she saw that a man was already standing there with a boy. Auden recognized the boy at once. It was Cedric Diggory.

"Hello, Amos," said Mr. Weasley. "And you must be Cedric."

"Yes, sir," Cedric answered, shaking Mr. Weasley's hand. Then, he saw Auden. "Hi Auden," he said, sending her a smile.

"Hey," Auden replied as Fred and George caught up to them. She had forgotten how cute Cedric was and he had gotten even cuter over the summer if that were even possible.

Cedric began asking about her summer, and Auden was so preoccupied, she didn't even notice the glares that Fred was giving Cedric or the smirks that Ginny and Hermione were sharing.

"Are all these yours, Arthur?" Mr. Diggory asked, looking around at Auden, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ron and the twins.

"No, no, only the redheads," Mr. Weasley answered. "This is Hermione, a friend of Rons, and that's Auden, she's Liam's daughter...and this is Harry, another friend of Ron's."

"Harry...Harry Potter?" Mr. Diggory asked, his eyes flicking to Harry's scar.

"Er, yeah," Harry answered with a small sigh.

"Ced's talked all about you, of course. Told us all about playing against you last year. I said to him, Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren one day. You beat Harry Potter!"

Harry didn't respond. Fred and George, however, were wearing identical scowls on their faces and Cedric looked embarrassed.

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad. I told you, it was an accident," he said quietly.

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" Mr. Diggory asked, clapping Cedric on the back. "Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman. But the best man won, I'm sure Harry would say the same, wouldn't you, Harry? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"

Cedric turned bright red and looked away as Harry looked embarrassed and the twins continued to scowl. Auden bit her lip. She couldn't say she was much of a fan of Cedric's dad, but Cedric clearly didn't agree with anything his father was saying. She felt bad. She knew how nice he was and his dad was insistent of forcing him into the spotlight and making him sound like a jerk.

Just then, Mr. Diggory turned his attention to Auden. "Your Liam's daughter?" he asked.

"Yeah, he couldn't make it today. He couldn't get time off," she said with a shrug.

Mr. Diggory nodded. "It's Audrey, isn't it?"

"Auden," she corrected.

"Auden...oh, yes, I actually think Cedric mentioned you. Was she the one you said was a good flier?"

Cedric nodded. "Yeah, but dad, please don't-"

"Well, she can't be all that good if Gryffindor still lost to Hufflepuff, isn't that right?"

"Dad!" Cedric exclaimed, blushing.

Auden felt both of the twins tense on either side of her but she grabbed their wrists to signal them to stay put and behave.

"No need to be embarrassed, Ced," Mr. Diggory continued. "Unless...oh, this is the girl you told me you thought was pretty, isn't it!"

Auden's mouth dropped open. Cedric had told his dad she was pretty? She could practically hear Ginny and Hermione mentally squealing from behind her and had to resist turning to shoot them a look. She also felt Fred tense up again and she wondered why.

"Yeah, Dad, but really you didn't have to bring that up," Cedric muttered.

Mr. Diggory gave Auden a once-over, but didn't get a chance to say anything more. Having sensed the tension, Mr. Weasley quickly instructed everyone to put their hands on the Portkey. Once everyone had, Mr. Weasley counted to three and Auden suddenly felt herself being torn away from the ground she was standing on.

Eventually, they were slammed back into the ground and everyone fell over, except for Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory and Cedric. Clearly, they were a lot more graceful. Either that or they had used magic, since they were all seventeen or older.

"We have to stop meeting this way, Aud," said a voice. Auden looked down. She had fallen on top of Fred again.

"Sorry, Fred," she smiled as she rolled away from him. She looked up to see Cedric holding out his hand to her. She took it and let him help her up. "Show off," she whispered jokingly, referring to his graceful landing. Cedric only blushed and smiled.

"Sorry about what my dad said back there," Cedric said. "About everything, really. About Harry, about the Gryffindor team...about your flying ability."

"Don't worry about it," she said, chewing on her lip and shaking her head. "I could tell you two don't share the same opinion."

"We don't," Cedric said quickly.

"You really told him I was pretty, though?" Auden said, a teasing smirk playing across her face.

Cedric blushed and nodded. "Yeah. I was hoping you'd be coming to the World Cup, actually. I know you live in the area and I knew if you came it would mean I could see you again and get to know you a little better."

Auden smiled as a blush crept up her own cheeks this time. He had practically said that he was interested in her. She hardly dared to believe it. "You don't think I'm too young?" she asked.

Cedric shrugged. "What's three years, right?" He gave her a playful half smile and Auden giggled. While she had never been-and never would be-one of the girls who completely _threw_ themselves at Cedric, she could definitely see why a lot of people liked him and she could definitely see that there was more to him than most people thought.

* * *

"Welcome to the Quidditch World Cup," Mr. Weasley said after they had checked in and reached the area filled with hundreds of tents. "We're down this way. Come on."

They didn't have to go far before the two tents reserved for the Weasley family came into view. The Diggorys were a lot further away and had to keep walking.

"Bye," Cedric said, waving to Auden. "See you at the match."

"Yeah, see you," Auden smiled and whirled around to see Hermione and Ginny behind her. Everyone else had disappeared into the boy's tent.

"Looks like someone has a crush on you," Ginny said.

Auden blushed and entered the tent she would be sharing with Hermione and Ginny. It looked small on the outside, but on the inside, it was the size of a small apartment, complete with bunk beds, a kitchen, and small bathroom.

Ginny and Hermione followed Auden into the tent, where she was putting her bag down on one of the bunk beds.

"You're so lucky Cedric talks to you. It would be cool if he asked you out. He's so cute," Ginny told Auden.

"He is cute, isn't he?" Auden answered, grinning. "But he can't possibly _like_ me. We hardly know each other." Despite the fact that Cedric had practically admitted he wanted to get to know her, she was still having trouble believing it. It still seemed like it couldn't be real.

"Maybe that's why he's _trying_ to get to know you," Hermione said reasonably. "He told his dad he thinks you're pretty. That has to count for something."

"Hold on, Hermione," Auden laughed. "Didn't you tell me last year that you thought there was something between me and Fred?"

"Well, yes, I believe he likes you as well."

Auden sighed. "Great."

"You think Fred likes her?" Ginny asked, turning to Hermione as Auden sighed again. She shouldn't have said anything in front of Ginny. Now she and Hermione would probably want to team up or something and constantly try to convince Auden that something was going on between her and Fred.

Before Hermione could answer, Fred himself barged into their tent.

"Hey!" cried Ginny. "Don't you knock?"

"On what? The tent flap?" Fred asked with a laugh.

"You can't just barge in on us like that," Ginny informed him, crossing her arms. "There's something called privacy in this world, you know."

"Well, I just did just barge in on you, and anyway, Dad wants you and Hermione to help him start a fire to cook lunch."

"Fine," Ginny answered as she and Hermione left the tent, leaving Fred and Auden alone.

"What's wrong?" Auden asked. "You look a little angry about something. In fact, you've looked grumpy ever since we found our Portkey earlier. Is this still about the ton-tongue toffees? Because, like you said, you _can_ make more. It's not the end of the world, even though I know how hard you worked on them."

"No, it's not about that," Fred said, shaking his head and sitting down on one of the bottom bunks as he absentmindedly twirled his wand in his hand. "It's nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing," Auden said. "Fred, I've known you my whole life. Something's wrong. Was it something I did?"

"No, not you," Fred said.

"Then what is it?"

Fred looked up at her and a grin came over his face. "Hey, want to go for a walk? You know, explore, see what else is around?"

"Tents. That's what's around." Auden folded her arms stubbornly. She wished he would just tell her what was bothering him. It seemed as if he were having lots of issues with communication lately, particularly to her. She hated it. They had never had this problem before, so why now?

Fred rolled his eyes. "Please?"

"You're avoiding my question."

"Nothing's wrong," Fred insisted. "I was just thinking is all."

"About what? Are you still mad about what Cedric's dad said?"

"Kind of," Fred muttered.

"Just forget about it," she shrugged. "He's just making terrible assumptions and twisting everything Cedric told him around."

"How do you know Cedric didn't tell him all of that negative stuff?" Fred asked, continuing to twirl his wand around.

"I don't know why you hate him so much," Auden said. "There's more to him than you think."

Fred snorted.

"Is it still about the Quidditch match last year? Is that the problem?"

Fred shrugged. "Sort of."

"Well, what else? Talk to me, Fred, please." When Fred didn't answer, she sighed. "Please, Fred, just tell me what's going through your head."

Finally, Fred looked up at her and met her eyes. He studied her face and looked on the verge of saying something. "I-" he began, before closing his mouth again.

Auden sat down next to him on the bed and reached for his hand. "Come on, Fred," she coaxed. "You can tell me anything. You know that."

Fred looked away for a second before looking back at her and smirking. "I'm actually thinking about how incredibly nosy you are." He leaned over and began tickling her sides. She giggled as he pinned her down and clasped her wrists together above her head so that he could tickle under her arms.

"I'm not nosy! I'm concerned about you!" she cried through her giggles.

"Thanks for your concern," Fred said, his teeth gritted as he tried to keep a flailing Auden still, "but it's nothing. Really." He continued to tickle her, successfully driving all of her concerns away for the time being.

* * *

**A/N: I hope everyone likes this chapter. I got the title from the song**_** Can't Keep On Loving You**_** by Elliott Yamin. Anyway, reviews are much appreciated**


	16. Chapter 15: The Quidditch World Cup

Later in the afternoon, Ben, Bill, Charlie and Percy arrived at the campsite. Mr. Weasley had managed to get a fire started and he was able to cook lunch over it. Eventually both Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch paid a visit and Bagman nearly let slip that something interesting was being planned at Hogwarts in the upcoming year. Crouch warned him to keep his mouth shut. Percy backed him up completely, only to have Mr. Crouch address him as Weatherby. Auden, Fred and George had nearly spit out their tea at this point. _Weatherby_. Fred and George were never going to let Percy live that down, and personally, Auden couldn't blame them.

That night, when it was finally getting dark, it was time to start heading to the stadium for the match. Fred had perked up and at the time, he was chasing Auden with a rubber snake that one of his joke wands had turned into. She was laughing and screaming, and eventually, she ran out of the tent, right into Cedric.

"Woah, careful there," Cedric said, catching her. Only Ginny and Hermione noticed the scowl on Fred's face.

"Okay, time to go," Mr. Weasley called.

"So, are you excited?" Cedric asked, looking at her and smiling as they began to walk towards the woods leading to the giant stadium.

"Very," she answered. "I grew up with six boys plus my brother and my dad, who are all Quidditch fanatics. I'd be disowned if I didn't like Quidditch and get excited over it." She grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Would you have liked it even if you weren't around so many Quidditch fans?"

"Probably," she answered. "Flying's always been fun for me."

Cedric nodded. "I agree. I would fly professionally if I could."

"Why can't you? You're certainly good enough."

"Well," Cedric sighed, "my dad wants me to follow in his footsteps at the Ministry. Sometimes I think he gets a little _too_ involved in my life. Even though he means well, it's not that fun for me."

"If you want to fly professionally, you should do it," Auden said.

"Easier said than done."

"Yes, but not impossible."

"Would you come to a game if I did make it onto a professional team?" Cedric asked.

"I don't know, I might be able to find time to squeeze in a game or two," she teased. Cedric laughed and Auden smiled. Suddenly, Fred and George appeared beside her, stripes of green painted across their cheeks in support of the Irish team.

"Hi," Fred said with a huge grin. "What were you two talking about before we so rudely interrupted?"

"Please don't tell me you're going all big brother on me," Auden hissed, narrowing her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked, keeping his voice just as low and looking at her in confusion.

"I just mean that apparently seeing me simply _talk_ to an older, attractive boy that isn't you or one of your brothers has made you go a bit crazy and overprotective."

"What makes you think that?" Fred asked.

"You just _appeared_ right next to me in that overly chipper, awkward manner that implies you were just trying to keep an eye on the situation."

"You think Cedric's attractive?" Fred hissed, wrinkling his nose and ignoring Auden's latest statement.

"Well, yeah," Auden whispered as a blush crept up her cheeks. "He is." She glanced at Cedric, walking slightly ahead of her with George. He kept looking back at her and glancing at Fred as if wondering what they were talking about.

"I thought you had better taste than that, Aud," Fred told her, shaking his head. He was only half-joking and Auden knew it.

"Stop it, Fred," she scolded, shooting him a look. "I'm perfectly alllowed to be attracted to whatever boy I want without having to listen to your opinion."

"But he's-"

"You really think that's all is, don't you?" Auden asked. "You think he's just something girls like to _look_ at. Well he's not, so it shows how much you know." With that, she sped up to walk next to Cedric again, leaving Fred scowling behind them.

Auden ended up seated in between Cedric and Fred for the match. The view from their seats was fantastic and Auden was getting more and more excited and anxious for the match to start.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said," Fred said into her ear, talking just loud enough for her to hear over the noise of the crowd. "Cedric's...fine."

Auden actually giggled. "Nice attempt to get back on my good side," she said.

Fred blushed. "I don't want you angry at me."

"I'm not angry at you," Auden said, shaking her head. "But I really do appreciate you apologizing...and half-heartedly attempting to be nice to Cedric."

Fred gave her a tiny smile, but didn't get the chance to say anything because the match started just then. Auden's face was lit up with joy as she watched the players zoom around the field. This was absolutely incredible.

"Having fun?" Fred said in her ear.

"Definitely," she replied.

Just then, she felt a hand grab onto hers. It was Cedric. She looked down at their hands, then up at Cedric. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She couldn't help herself. She had every reason to be happy right now. She was at the Quidditch World Cup with a group of amazing people that she cared deeply for. She didn't think anything could possibly go wrong tonight.

* * *

Cedric couldn't stop looking at her. She looked so cute the way she was watching the game in pure excitement. He especially loved it when she laughed at the Irish leprechaun mascots. Her laugh was enough to make him want to laugh along with her.

Eventually, he decided to be daring and grab her hand. She didn't pull it away. Cedric did a silent cheer of victory in his head. He had thought she might have something going on with Fred. The fact that she didn't pull her hand away gave Cedric his answer.

He had never even known Auden until last year when Hufflepuff played Gryffindor in Quidditch. He had noticed her flying skills right away. She was one heck of a flyer. He knew she was only fourteen, but he didn't care. There was something about her that he liked and he wanted to get to know her better.

All too soon, the match ended and Cedric had to go with his dad to their tent, far away from Auden's tent. As they said their goodbyes, Cedric felt happier knowing that in a few weeks, he would be seeing Auden at school. _Just a few more weeks until I can see her again, _he thought to himself. Maybe by then, he'd get the courage to ask her out.

* * *

Auden was laughing. She was in the boy's tent, next to Hermione and Ginny. The twins were being their usual selves and dancing around the tent. Fred stopped in front of Auden and she climbed onto his back. He continued to dance around and make fun of Ron, for his obsession with Viktor Krum. Auden laughed even harder when Fred and George began singing out of tune.

"Viktor, I love you," started George.

"Viktor, I do," continued Fred.

"When we're apart, my heart beats only for you," everyone else joined in.

Just then, Mr. Weasley interrupted their fun. "Death Eaters are attacking," he informed them.

"What?" asked Auden, sliding off Fred's back. Sure enough, she could hear bangs and yells from outside.

"You heard me! Go to the woods and stick together!" Mr. Weasley yelled.

Everyone quickly ran outside. It was complete chaos. Fred grabbed Auden's hand. "Come on, this way," he yelled. They followed George and Ginny and ran through the woods until they could no longer hear the noise of the attack.

"Where are Harry, Hermione and Ron?" asked Ginny

"Oh, no, we must have been separated," groaned George.

"Let's just wait here," Fred suggested. "I'm sure the three of them will be okay."

Auden sat down on the ground, pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. She was scared, tired, and cold.

Fred sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "It'll be okay," he whispered. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well. "Here, you're shivering." He slipped off his sweater and gave it to Auden, who just stared down at it. "You're supposed to put it on," Fred prodded.

"But now all you have is a t-shirt."

Fred shrugged. "I'm not cold," he lied. "Put it on."

Auden did as he said and snuggled back up to him again. Soon, George and Ginny came to sit next to Fred and Auden.

"This is completely mental, isn't it?" Fred finally said. "It was a perfectly nice night and the Death Eaters had to come and ruin it."

"I hate being separated from everyone else," Auden muttered. "Did you see how _insane_ it was out there? Tents were on fire and everyone was running...I'm actually not surprised we were separated from the others. It's actually a wonder that the four of us weren't separated."

"I'm glad we weren't though. I just hope Harry, Ron and Hermione managed to stick together," George said. "It would definitely not be good for someone to be out here alone."

Auden shivered at that thought despite the fact that Fred's arm was around her and she was wearing his sweater. She turned and buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm scared, Fred," she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

He tightened his grip on her slightly and rubbed a hand up and down her arm. "It's okay, Aud. I'm sure everyone will make it out okay."

"You don't know that, Fred. I know you're just as scared as I am," she answered.

"Yeah, you're right, I am," he said quietly. He pulled her onto his lap and continued to lightly rub her arm. After a moment, Auden felt his lips on her forehead. The kiss only lasted for a second, but Auden found herself wishing he would do it again. It actually helped to comfort her even more.

The four of them sat where they were for a few more minutes, until Ginny broke the silence and stillness by pointing up at the sky. "Look!" she cried.

Auden looked up and gasped. The Dark Mark, the sign of Voldemort, was shining in the sky, hovering above the trees.

"Where did that come from?" she asked.

"One of the Death Eaters most likely, right?" Ginny asked.

"Had to be," George muttered.

"But wasn't that what they would cast over areas where someone's been killed?" Auden asked.

"Yeah," Fred whispered, his eyes fixated on the Dark Mark. "It is."

Auden let out a whimper and turned back into Fred's shoulder.

"Auden, it's okay," he whispered. "It's entirely possible that they sent it up just to scare everyone and remind us that they're still around. It's possible that no one's dead at all."

"I want information, Fred," she whispered.

Just then, Bill Apparated next to them, as if he had someone heard Auden's words.

"Bill, what's happening?" asked George as Ginny ran to hug her brother.

"Dad's investigating who set off the mark, and I came to round everyone up and get back to the tent. Where are the others?"

"We were separated," Fred told him.

"Alright, I'll bring you four back to the tent, and then go look for the others." Bill looked and sounded exhausted.

"Has anyone been killed?" Auden asked, sliding off of Fred's lap and standing up.

"Not that we know of," Bill answered. "Now come on. We should get back to the tent as soon as possible."

Once back at the tent, Auden wrapped herself in a blanket and sat on one of the beds. "I hope everyone's okay," she said. "And I wonder what happened to Cedric. I hope he's safe, too." She didn't see Fred roll his eyes at the mention of Cedric's name.

"I'm sure they're all fine," Fred said, leaning against the counter in the tent's kitchen.

Ginny joined Auden on the bed and George peeked out of the tent flap. They were all silent. They didn't know what else to say. They were all simply _worried_.

All of a sudden, Bill, Percy, and Charlie were in the tent, announced by a loud popping noise. Bill explained that Mr. Weasley was in the forest with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Mr. Weasley had told Bill that they had it under control and to come back to the tent.

Bill had just finished explaining when Mr. Weasley walked through the tent flap with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Mr. Crouch fired his house elf, Winky. Everyone thinks she set off the mark because she was found with Harry's wand in her hand," he explained.

"What?" everyone cried.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione took turns explaining what had happened to them in the forest.

"Well, it's a good thing everyone's okay," Mr. Weasley said. "Now, everyone should try to get some sleep before we leave for home."

Ginny and Hermione began to leave the tent and Auden turned to follow them, depositing the blanket she had been using back onto the bunk bed. As she passed Fred, she met his eyes and stopped walking.

"Do you mind if I keep this for tonight?" she asked, gesturing to his sweater. It wass too big for her-the sleeves covered her hands and it was hanging off one shoulder-but it was incredibly comfortable.

"No," Fred whispered, shaking his head. "I don't mind at all."

Auden smiled and nodded before turning and making her way to the tent next door. She climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep. It felt like a few minutes later when before Mr. Weasley was waking them up.

Everyone was exhausted on the trip back to the Burrow. As soon as they got home and their mothers had finished fussing over them, everyone went to bed. Auden climbed the stairs to Ginny's room, and collapsed on the bed without even changing into her pajamas or out of Fred's sweater.


	17. Chapter 16: The Treehouse

The next day, everyone slept later than usual. Everyone except Mrs. Weasley and Auden's mother who always seemd so incredibly able to get up early. Auden's dad, Mr. Weasley and Percy also had to get up early and go to the Ministry. Needless to say, there was a lot to be sorted out after what had happened the night before.

After Auden had woken up and dressed, she folded Fred's sweater over her arm and made her way to his room. She knocked on the door and when she heard his voice telling her to come in, she slowly pushed it open.

"Hey," she said quietly, stepping into the room. Fred was lounging on the window seat, twirling his wand in his hand while George was sprawled out on the floor with sketch papers all around him. "I have your sweater, Fred."

"Thanks," he said, holding out his hand for it.

Auden crossed the room and handed it to him before sitting at the other end of the window seat and bringing her feet up, stretching them out in front of her and leaning her head against the wall.

"My sweater smells like girl now," Fred stated, looking at Auden and shaking his head. "Thanks to you, of course."

"Oh, yeah? And what exactly does _girl_ smell like?" Auden teased. She picked up one of her feet and wiggled it in Fred's face. "Stinky feet maybe?"

Fred laughed and swatted her foot away. "No, quite the opposite actually." He looked down at the sweater in his hands before looking up at her and smiling. "Actually, this particular girl smells like vanilla...and sometimes even apples and cinnamon."

"You're starting to sound like a girl yourself," George said from the floor, causing Fred's ears to turn red.

"I think he made quite an impressive observation," Auden said. "And besides, it means his sense of smell is working perfectly."

Fred grinned and nudged her with his foot. "Thanks. At least I can count on _someone_ to defend me when my twin brother decides he wants to throw me to the wolves."

Auden smiled back. "Anytime," she giggled.

"I didn't throw you to the wolves," George said with a grin, looking up from his spot on the floor. "I simply stated an observation letting you know that you were sounding a wee bit feminine. Apples, cinnamon and vanilla, honestly," he laughed.

"Shut up," Fred muttered, his ears turning even redder.

"You'll just have to wear the sweater and get it all manly smelling again," Auden joked.

"And then you'll probably steal it and get it a girly smelling again just to tease me," Fred grinned.

Auden pretended to be insulted. "I can't believe you would even accuse me of such a thing," she said, giggling slightly.

"Why don't you just hang onto it?" Fred asked, tossing the sweater back at her.

"I'd rather sneak into your room and steal it," Auden answered, tossing it back so that it landed on Fred's head. "It's more fun that way."

"Of course you'd like that way better," Fred muttered, pulling the sweater off of his head.

"I can't believe this is something you two consider fun," George said. "Actually, if you ask me, I think this is more than fun. I think it's serious business for the two of you." He continued working on the sketch layed out in front of him, but Auden could see him grinning.

"George," Fred said, giving his head a small shake when his twin looked up.

"I'm just saying I think you two seriously enjoy this. You _like _the idea of having a sweater that smells like the other."

"George," Fred said again.

"Fred, you know George is just teasing," Auden giggled. But the truth was that on the inside, her stomach had dropped. George kind of had a point. While she _was_ teasing Fred, at the same time, she loved the way he smelled. The night before, when she had slept in the sweater, it had smelled just like him and it had actually been really conforting. She hadn't really thought much about it until now, though. George was almost making it into a big deal, as if it were more than it really was.

Fred looked down and fiddled with a loose thread on the sweater. "Yeah, I guess," he muttered. He glanced back at her and studied her face for a second.

"What?" she whispered, half-smiling and nudging him with her foot.

"Nothing," he whispered, clearing his throat and looking away.

"You sure?"

"Positive," he nodded. He smiled at her as if to prove his point, but some part of Auden didn't believe him.

"Okay," she nodded, standing up and heading for the door. "Well, I'll leave you two to inventing. I've been distracting enough."

"You haven't, so you can stay if you want," George said absentmindedly, brushing his quill against his chin.

Auden shook her head. "No, I'll go. I'll see you two later." Once at the door, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Fred watching her go. She flashed him a quick smile before slipping out of the room and shutting the door behind her.

After dinner that night, Auden and her mother walked back to their house. Her dad was still at work and Auden felt bad for him and Mr. Weasley. There was so much work for them to do simply because of some stupid Death Eaters.

When Auden finally climbed into bed that night, she couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned for a few more minutes before she realized where she could go. She grabbed a blanket and snuck outside. She was going to the tree house.

The tree house was built by her dad and Mr. Weasley, who had insisted they do it by hand, like Muggles. That was before the tree house turned out lopsided and "unsafe", to use Mrs. Weasley's exact word. After that, the tree house was rebuilt using magic.

It stood in the backyard, right in between the two houses, so that the kids from both families had easy access to it. It was a beautiful tree house with a small porch around the entire thing and also a railing. The entrance was a trapdoor in the middle of the tree house floor and there was a ladder dangling from it to climb up.

Auden climbed up the ladder and entered the tree house. She smiled at all of the papers and objects on the floor. She remembered hiding up here with Ron from their parents who were trying to tell them to come home. They hadn't wanted to stop playing, so they hid. She also remembered trying to help Fred and George with their inventions up here. A lot of the time, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and Ron would hog it and declare it a _No Girls Allowed_ zone, preventing Ginny and Auden from coming up. In retaliation, Ginny and Auden had created their own fort in the Burrow's living room using blankets, pillows and quilts. They had put up a sign saying _No Boys Allowed_ and they thought the boys would be so jealous. But they weren't. They didn't even care. They just laughed as they walked through the living room to get snacks from the kitchen.

Auden smiled at the memories as she continued to look around the tree house. She picked up a piece of paper lying at her feet. It was a drawing she had done when she was about six or seven. Four labeled stick figures took up the page: her, Ron, Fred, and George. On the top, in writing that was surprisingly neat for a six year old, it said "friends forever". Auden had to smile. Just then, she heard a noise behind her and she whirled around.

"It's just me." Fred's flaming red hair was poking through the trapdoor. His own blanket was wrapped around his shoulders, and he was carrying two mugs of hot chocolate. "For you," he said, handing her one of the steaming mugs.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Auden asked, taking her drink and sitting on the floor against the wall, with her blanket spread over her legs.

"Nope, and then I saw you come out here, so I made hot chocolate and decided to join you." Fred sat down next to Auden, so close that their shoulders were touching.

"It's good, the hot chocolate," Auden said as she took a sip. "You even put mini marshmallows in it…just like when we were kids."

"Mhm," nodded Fred, looking down at her.

"And look, you didn't burn down your house," Auden joked.

Fred laughed and nudged her playfully with his elbow. "What's that?" he pointed to the paper lying in her lap.

"I drew this when I was probably around six or seven. Do you remember it?" she asked.

Fred took the paper from Auden's hand. "Of course I remember this," he smiled.

"You laughed at me when I first showed it to you. You thought it was silly."

"Did I?" Fred winced. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize. It is kind of cheesy."

"No, it's not. It's sweet."

Auden shrugged and when she looked away for a moment, Fred put the paper in his pocket.

He wanted to ask her what the deal was with Cedric to get it all out in the open, but the words wouldn't come out. For now, he could live without knowing. It might be better that way. For right now, he wanted to enjoy this moment alone with Auden without feeling jealous or sad. And those feelings would definitely push their way forward if he brought up Cedric.

"So," Auden said after a moment, "besides everything that happened with the Death Eaters, did you have fun at the match?"

"I did," Fred nodded. "What about you?"

"Yeah, it was fun," Auden answered, staring down into her mug. "It was a great game." She chewed on her lip for a moment. She wanted to bring up what had happened between them the night before, but at the same time she didn't. She kept thinking that it had to have been her imagination. Fred hadn't been about to kiss her. She had misunderstood. Besides, Fred had been almost his normal self all day. Except when they had first arrived at the tent, of course. Deciding against bringing up Fred's weird behavior, Auden finished her hot chocolate and rested her head on Fred's shoulder. He pulled her onto his lap and began absentmindedly playing with her hair. Soon, she fell asleep. Even after she had dozed off, Fred continued playing with her long, soft hair, and he couldn't help but wonder if Auden was dreaming about him or Cedric as she slept.

* * *

"Mum, I found them!"

"Mmph," mumbled Auden. She could hear footsteps moving farther away and she also felt a small breeze moving her hair around her face. She opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Fred. She then remembered that she had come up to the tree house last night. She looked out the window. Ginny was just stepping off the bottom of the ladder and Auden guessed it had been her that had just yelled.

Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Parker then ran out of Auden's house towards the tree house. Auden groaned to herself. _They're going to be angry that we went 'missing',_ she thought.

"Fred," she whispered, turning to him. "Wake up." Fred didn't move, so Auden shook his shoulder. He still didn't wake up. Auden sighed, put her face next to his ear and yelled, "Wake up!"

Fred jumped and snapped his eyes open. "What was that for?"

"Good morning Freddie," Auden said sweetly as footsteps could be heard on the ladder. "Our mothers are coming."

Fred sighed. "Prepare for the fireworks." Then, he got a mischievous grin. "I have an idea though."

Just then, the trapdoor opened and Mrs. Weasley's face appeared.

"Hello Mum, how are you today?" Fred then looked at Auden. "Look at that, Aud, she found us. You win, mum. And I thought _I_ was the hide and seek champion!"

Mrs. Weasley just stared at them for a moment. Then, her face cracked into a smile and she laughed.

"What are you two even doing up here?"

"We couldn't sleep last night so we came here and we didn't mean to but we ended up falling asleep here," Auden said.

"Alright, you get out of it this time, but we really didn't know where you were. Next time, try to tell us."

"Even if we have to wake you up in the middle of the night?" asked Auden.

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. Once she had left the tree house, Auden and Fred began to laugh. Auden looked over and saw Fred watching her. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked. He looked like he had something important to say.

"It's just…well, I wanted to…" Fred began, but he was interrupted by a tapping sound. It was an owl.

Auden got up and untied a letter from the owl's leg. "It's from Cedric!" she squealed. "He wants to know if I'm okay after what happened the other night. I have to go write him back!"

Just like that, she was gone. Fred watched her run back to her house. _Leave it to Diggory to ruin something even when he isn't here, _Fred thought sadly.

* * *

**A/N: I really hope everyone likes this chapter. It's one of my favorites so far!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 17: So Much I Can't Say

It was two days before school was to begin again at Hogwarts, and Auden was standing at the fireplace in her house with her family and the Weasleys besides Percy, Bill, and Charlie. Today was the day that Ben would leave for Romania. He had decided that he would live with Charlie while he was there and help him with his work on dragons.

"Well, I guess I'm all set to go," Ben said, half smiling. Auden watched as he hugged their parents goodbye and all the Weasleys before turning to her.

"Hey, cheer up little sis," he told her, smiling.

She gave him a small smile. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered.

"I'll miss you too, Aud," he gave her a hug. "Be good…but not too good. Don't be afraid to cause a little mayhem here and there." He winked at her.

"Will do," Auden laughed.

"Ben…" Mrs. Parker said in a warning tone.

Ben shrugged. "Come on, mum, lighten up." He grinned before giving her a second hug. He looked at Ron, Fred and George. "Take care of my little sister for me," he said.

"Of course," Ron answered.

"Yeah, don't worry, we'll be the ones helping her cause all that mayhem," Fred added, ruffling Auden's hair.

"Fred…" It was Mrs. Weasley's turn to give her son a warning look as Ben laughed.

Then, he walked into the fireplace and threw down some Floo Powder. Just like that, he was gone. Auden wrapped her arms around herself, although she wasn't cold. She felt someone hug her from behind. She turned her head and saw Fred, leaning over her shoulder. "You know that mayhem your brother was talking about?"

"Yeah, why, what are you planning?" Auden smirked.

"Well," Fred looked around to make sure no parents were near. "George and I were going to pull a prank on Percy before school starts and we don't have the chance since he won't be there."

Auden grinned before looking back at the fireplace. "Sounds good to me."

"That's my girl," Fred let go of her and turned his back to her. Auden knew what to do. She jumped on his back and he gave her a piggy back ride up the stairs.

"What are you, five years old?" Percy scoffed, sticking his head out of his bedroom.

Auden and Fred looked at each other, and then back at Percy. "Yes," they said simultaneously before continuing up the stairs.

* * *

"Fred!" He turned around when he heard his name. It was Auden. They had just started school again yesterday and he was glad to be back. He had just made himself comfortable on the common room couch when Auden had called his name.

"Hey Aud, what's up?" he asked her as she sat down.

"Cedric asked me out!" she cried, sitting down next to him and grinning widely. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were slightly pink. Normally, Fred would have thought she looked beautiful-he still thought she looked beautiful-but he hated the reason _why_ she looked like that.

"Oh," he choked out, looking away as he tried to hide his dejected expression. Why did Cedric just have to get _everything_?

"Is something wrong?" Auden asked.

"No, everything's fine. I'm happy for you," Fred managed to get out. He turned to look back at her. "How did it happen?" _As if I really want to know,_ he thought sarcastically.

"Well, I saw him in the Great Hall at dinner and he asked if he could talk to me, so naturally I said yes. We went for a walk around the lake, and he told me that he really liked me and he wanted me to be his girlfriend! He was actually concerned he was moving things too fast, but I assured him he wasn't. I mean, I like him, so why shouldn't I date him?"

Fred grunted in response.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Auden asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Fine," Fred mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "I'm happy for you," he choked out. "If you're happy with him, then that's great."

"I just...I can't believe it's real. I can't believe he chose me out of all the girls he could have picked."

"Yeah, what are the odds," Fred muttered, trying to hide his scowl.

Auden didn't seem to notice his expression this time, though. She simply gave him a quick one armed hug before running up to her dorm.

Fred groaned and buried his head in his hands. He wanted to start hitting his head against the wall. This was such a nightmare.

"Hey, what's wrong?" George asked as he came through the portrait hole and saw Fred.

"He asked her out," Fred whispered. He didn't even have to use any names. He knew George would know who he was talking about at once.

"Oh," answered George at a loss for words for probably the first time in his life. He sat down beside Fred and chewed on his lip.

"It's over, finished," Fred said blankly.

"It doesn't have to be," George whispered. "Maybe you can still get her back."

"I don't know. He's all…big Quidditch player—,"

"So are you," George cut in.

"Smart," continued Fred.

"So are you," George added.

"Mature."

"Alright, maybe not so much, but come on. What's not for Auden to like about you?"

"Clearly everything," Fred said miserably.

"As awful as this is to say, just because she and Cedric are dating now doesn't mean they'll be together forever. You could always hope for a break up," George said halfheartedly. "It's hard because I want her to be happy, but I also want you to be happy."

"I know," Fred nodded. He paused. "I wonder if he's kissed her yet."

"Maybe," George shrugged. There was another pause. "I bet he's lousy, though."

Fred snorted. "Doubt it."

"If this doesn't work out, you could always ask out Angelina. She's liked you for ages," George said. "And, I mean, she's pretty and smart and has a lot of the same qualities as Auden."

"Yeah, but she _isn't_ Auden, that's the point," Fred argued. He didn't know what to do. He had thought he could win Auden over and he didn't think it would be all that hard. She already cared about him quite a bit. She had known him longer. He had thought that would have put him ahead of Cedric, but apparently it didn't.

Every day after that, Fred had to see Cedric and Auden in the hallways, holding hands, laughing, and acting like a couple. He even caught them kissing once or twice and had to fight the urge to throw up, punch Cedric in the face, or both. Then, once word got out about the Triwizard Tournament, it went around that Cedric was going to put his name into the Goblet of Fire. Fred had wanted to as well, but he and George weren't old enough. It was just one more thing that was making Cedric more popular and Fred hated it.

"I'm sorry you can't put your name in," Auden said, sitting down beside Fred in the common room the night the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived and Dumbledore had announced the Tournament.

"You can't be all that sorry," Fred muttered bitterly. "You'll still be able to wish for Cedric's name to be picked."

"Fred," she said gently, but he interrupted.

"George and I are still going to try to enter, you know."

Auden blinked at him. "Why?"

Fred sent her a look. "Did I ever tell you that the money Bagman paid us at the World Cup was leprechaun gold?"

"No," Auden replied, looking surprised.

"Well, it was. It was gone the next morning."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"To you or to Bagman?"

"Both," Auden answered.

"George and I have been trying to tell Bagman and as for you...It was Cedric this and Cedric that for the entire rest of the summer. I could barely get a word in edgewise. And now that you're dating him, well, forget it."

"That's a lie," Auden hissed. She was angry now and Fred could tell without even looking at her. "Besides, you've known me for years. You've never been one to hold back with me. If you thought I was talking about him too much, then why didn't you tell me to shut up?" When Fred didn't answer, she sniffed. "That's what I thought. Look, Fred, I like Cedric a lot, so whatever it is about me dating him that's getting you all worked up, just drop it, okay? If it's about the Quidditch thing last year, then forget it. He _still_ feels terribly about that and it wasn't his fault."

"And it was Harry's?" Fred snapped.

"No, it was nobody's fault!" Auden exclaimed, standing up. "Look, Fred, just drop it, okay?" She sent him one last look before marching away. Fred groaned and buried his head in his hands. No matter what Auden said, he couldn't drop it. He liked her and she was dating Cedric Diggory.

The night Cedric was chosen as a Hogwarts champion, Fred found himself even angrier. Cedric entering was one thing, but him actually getting the title as champion was another. At least Harry was chosen as well, no matter how out of the ordinary that was. "I hate Diggory," Fred complained to George, glaring at a group of Hufflepuffs. Cedric wasn't with them, but it was close enough.

"I know," George nodded. "You've been telling me that almost every day since he and Auden started dating."

"He gets everything I want but can't have," Fred muttered.

"Auden says she misses you," George said. "She thinks you're avoiding her because of Cedric and she's annoyed by it, but she misses you more than she's annoyed with you. You _have_ been kind of avoiding her lately."

"It's kind of awkward to be around her. Besides, I thought she was angry with me. And in addition, every time I see her, I'm reminded that she's taken," Fred said. "What does everyone expect me to do? Hide the feelings and look the other way?"

"Well, yeah," George shrugged.

"Easier said than done, George," Fred told his brother. "I don't even know how to act around her now."

"You're one of her best friends. You can act any way you want around her," George pointed out.

"No, I can't," Fred insisted. "I _can't_ act the way I want, because the way I want to act around her is…." He trailed off, looking for the right words.

"You want to act like you're more than friends," George finished.

"Yeah, exactly," Fred whispered. "I can't help myself. Whenever I see her with Cedric, I get so...jealous."

George was quiet for a minute as they entered the common room. Auden wasn't there, and Fred instantly felt the jealousy flare up inside of him again. She was probably with Cedric celebrating his victory. The thought of them possibly snogging in a broom cupboarad made Fred want to throw up and then beat Cedric to a pulp.

"You know, Auden had it actually kind of tough for the first few weeks after she and Cedric started dating," George said as he and Fred took seats on the couch.

"Yeah, how?" Fred snorted.

"Some of the older girls were apparently upset that Cedric was no longer single. So, in typical jealous female fashion, they started loudly asking each other why he picked Auden of all people whenever she was walking by. You know, comments like _why her_ and _she's only fourteen_. Stupid stuff."

"How do you know this?" Fred asked, looking at George. His jealousy had disappeared for the moment and now he just wanted to go tell those girls off. He may not have wanted Auden to date Cedric either, but he wasn't going to let those girls make her feel as if she wasn't worthy of someone else. It was clearly obvious why Cedric wanted to date her. It was obvious why _anyone _would want to date her. Fred could give those girls a whole _list_ of reasons why someone would want to date Auden.

"She told me," George shrugged. "It was one of those nights when you weren't around. She was quite upset about it, but I told her to ignore them. She knew they were saying it because they were jealous, but it still stung."

Fred sighed. "I'm being so stupid. She told me to drop anything I had against Cedric. She thinks this is still about Quidditch, but it's so much more than that. And I can't tell her how I feel because she's taken now." He paused. "I wish I could drop it. But instead, my wanting to be in a romantic relationship with her is tearing our friendly relationship apart, which is definitely not what I want."

"I don't know what to tell you, Fred," George said sadly. "I wish I had all the answers and I wish I could make it easier to be around her again."

"I know you do," Fred sighed, resting his chin in his hands. "And I wish that Auden and Cedric would break up, but at the same time I want her happy. It's like I have all of these conflicting feelings inside of me and I don't know how to ensure I'm happy at the same time everyone else is."

"Romance really does stink, doesn't it?" George asked.

"Mm," Fred nodded. "I agree completely."

* * *

Auden had been on cloud nine since Cedric had asked her out. They hung out all the time and she loved being with him. He was honest, caring, and a gentleman. But at the same time, she felt as if she never talked to Fred anymore. Sure, she spent a lot of time with Cedric, but she still made sure to hang out with all of her other friends. She even saw George all the time, but Fred never seemed to be around. Maybe he had been a jerk about her and Cedric, but all the same, he was one of her best friends and she really missed him.

"What's wrong?" Cedric asked her one day. They were sitting outside under a tree near the lake and Auden had been eerily quiet.

"I think Fred's avoiding me," she told him.

"Oh…well maybe he's just busy."

"I don't know…maybe," Auden twisted her ring around and around her finger. Cedric put his hand over hers, stopping her actions.

"Don't worry Aud, he's one of your best friends, right? I'm sure he'd tell you if something was wrong."

Auden finally smiled and looked over at Cedric. "Yeah, you're right."

Cedric brushed his hand across Auden's cheek. "Your eyes…they look so pretty in the sun…they look amber."

Auden smiled and blushed. "Thanks." She put her head on Cedric's shoulder and just relaxed. Just then, some of Cedric's friends appared, talking loudly and showing off badges they had pinned to the front of their robes. Auden looked up curiously to see that the badges said "Support Diggory." She smiled, but it faded quickly as the words on the badge changed to read "Potter Stinks."

Cedric's friends were laughing now and Cedric was smiling awkwardly, but Auden was only growing angry. "Take them off," she ordered suddenly.

"Why?" one of Cedric's friends, a boy named Henry, gave Auden a questioning look and let out a snort.

"She's friends with Potter, remember?" another one of them laughed, nudging Henry in the side.

"He cheated," Henry told Auden, speaking slowly as if she were incompetent. "He's not seventeen yet. He doesn't deserve to be champion."

"He didn't put his own name in," Auden insisted, speaking slowly just as Henry had.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Henry asked, crossing his arms. "Potter's or Cedric's?"

"Both!" Auden exclaimed. Honestly, why did she have to pick sides? Harry and Cedric were both Hogwarts students and she wanted a Hogwarts victory. She didn't want to have to choose between two people she cared so much about.

"It doesn't work that way," Henry laughed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an extra badge before tossing it at her. "For when you decide to support the right team," he smirked. Then, he and the others walked away, laughing.

Auden wrinkled her nose stood up, tossing the badge into the lake with all her might. It landed with a splash and a plunk.

"They're good guys usually," Cedric said quietly, standing up beside her and awkwardly digging his toe into the ground.

Auden nodded. "I'm sure they are, except when there's a competition involved."

"Hufflepuff is usually overlooked, you know?" Cedric shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. "We don't usually win things."

Auden actually giggled. "Well, win or lose, you'll certainly make Hufflepuff look great with your impressive effort."

Cedric laughed and reached for her hand. He picked it up before giving it a gentle kiss. "I'll talk to my friends, okay? I'll tell them to stop wearing the badges. I can't guarantee that they'll listen, but..." He shrugged. "I like Harry, too. I don't think he's the kind of person who'd want to put his own name in the goblet. And I'm not just saying that because you're good friends with him."

Auden smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "Thanks, Cedric."

He grinned and lightly pressed his lips to hers again. "Aud, I...I love you," he whispered, pulling away slightly.

Auden's breath caught in her throat. "Really?" she whispered back, her eyes flicking up to meet his.

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. You don't have to say it back or anything, but I-"

Auden interrupted him by kissing him again. "No, I-I love you too," she whispered.

"You didn't sound like you meant it," Cedric said with a laugh. "More like you half meant it, to be honest."

"Cedric, I-"

"Honestly, it's okay, Aud. I know it's only been two months, but I just couldn't hide what I felt anymore. When you're ready, you're ready. I'm not mad at you or anything."

Auden let out a tiny laugh and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head in the crook of his neck. "Merlin, you're such a great guy," she whispered. "And I'm so lucky to have you."

Cedric simply smiled and kissed the top of her head.

* * *

"Those badges are despicable," George muttered one night, sitting next to Auden on the couch. She looked up to see him glaring at the table in front of them, where a few stray Potter Stinks badges were sitting. Colin and Dennis Creevey had been attempting to change them to say Support Harry Potter instead, but they had only managed to get them stuck on saying Potter Stinks.

Auden nodded in response to George's statement before going back to her Charms homework. "Cedric's friends were giving me trouble earlier today because they were wearing them and laughing about it and I told them to take them off. Basically, they want me to choose a side. Harry or Cedric. But I don't want to choose. I support both of them and yet sometimes I feel as if that's a crime."

"It's not," George said, shaking his head. "You can support who you want and if that's Harry and Cedric, then so be it."

"They tried to give me a badge, but I threw it into the lake," Auden said with a smile.

George laughed. "Good for you."

There was a momentary silence between the two of them. "Where's Fred?" Auden finally asked, absentmindedly trailing her quill across her chin as she scanned her textbook for the section she needed. She half felt like she shouldn't care where Fred was. He didn't seem to care where she was anymore. He definitely seemed to be avoiding her and needless to say, Auden's feelings were a bit hurt.

George shrugged. "I think he's upstairs actually. He might be sulking, actually." He smirked.

"And why would he be doing that?" Auden asked. She looked at him and smiled. "Do you know something I don't know?"

"I think _everyone _knows something you don't know, actually," George said.

"Is this still about Cedric?" Auden sighed.

"Sort of," George said slowly, leaning back into the couch and putting his feet up on the table. "Just not for the reason you might be thinking."

Auden was quiet. "Fred doesn't like Cedric because of the whole Quidditch thing," she said finally.

"True, but there's more to the story."

"What is it?"

George shook his head. "I'm not telling you. I think you can figure it out if you think hard enough, though. You're smart."

Auden sighed. "I thought I knew Fred very well, but I can't exactly figure him out this time. It's so odd."

"It's actually pretty easy, but I think you're having trouble seeing it because you can't imagine being anything more with Fred than best friends. That idea is almost foreign to you and it scares you."

"George," Auden said, finally understanding. "I've heard this before from Ron and Hermione actually and I don't think Fred feels that way about me. He can't. Not when he has Angelina around. She's very much his type and I'm just his fourteen year old best friend. I'm like his sister."

"I think that's what he used to think, too," George said with a laugh, "but not anymore. I clearly can't do much to prove it to you. Fred will have to tell you himself. But in the end, he really just wants you to be happy. If that _isn't _with him, he'll get used to it eventually. He'll have to. Just do what makes you happy, okay?"

Auden nodded. "Okay," she whispered.

* * *

November came around bringing with it Auden and Cedric's two month anniversary and, at the end of the month, the first task of the tournament. Cedric was about to go down to the tent where the champions were meeting. Auden had already wished Harry luck earlier that morning.

"Good luck," she told Cedric, giving him a quick kiss.

"Thanks," Cedric said, smiling his adorable half-smile at her. He turned and left through the oak front doors. Auden stood where she was in the entrance hall for a moment, chewing on her lip. Saying she was nervous would be kind of an understatement. Harry had found out that the first task was to fight a dragon and Auden had been nervous for the champions ever since.

She was snapped back to reality by someone calling her name. It was George. Fred was right next to him. "Want to sit with us to watch the first task?" George asked. He was smiling, but Fred actually looked like he dreaded the idea. He wasn't even meeting Auden's eyes.

"Sure," she answered. "What's wrong, Fred?"

"Nothing's wrong," he answered quickly, still not meeting her eyes. Auden fought the urge to groan in frustration. This had pretty much been the extent of their conversations for some time and she hated it. She wanted her friend back.

They walked down to the stands set up around the area where the first task would take place and found seats behind Ron and Hermione. After a few minutes, the task finally began.

Harry went first and he did an incredible job capturing his golden egg. Auden cheered loudly for him with the rest of the Gryffindors. Fleur and Krum also did a good job getting their eggs, but not as good as Harry, in Auden's opinion. Cedric was going last. Auden began cheering for him and when the dragon burnt Cedric's shoulder, Auden gasped and grabbed Fred's arm. He shook her off.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" she asked again. Fred had never treated her like this before.

"You're cheering for the enemy," Fred blurted out.

Auden stared at him. "The enemy," she repeated slowly, half laughing.

"Yes, Auden, the enemy. He's in Hufflepuff!" Fred said angrily.

"Oh, please, not you too!" she cried. "Everyone's trying to get me to pick sides, but I'm not going to! Harry is my friend and I want him to do well, but Cedric is my boyfriend! He goes to Hogwarts just like you and me!"

"It doesn't matter!" yelled Fred. "You wonder where I've been this whole time and then you walk around glued to your boyfriend all day."

"That's not true! I've spent time with everyone else but you're never around! You're either not there or you leave! You're avoiding me! And what does that have to do with anything?" Auden cried.

"Never mind, just forget it," Fred answered. "Cedric's become all you care about ever since you started dating."

"That is _not _true!" Auden cried.

"Just forget it, okay?" Fred snapped. He gave her a look before storming away. George gave Auden weak apologetic smile before reluctantly following his twin.

Ron and Hermione were now staring at Auden. She was so angry and upset, but she couldn't leave, so she just sat back down and watched Cedric capture the golden egg.

When the task was over, Auden immediately jumped up and ran towards the hospital tent. Cedric was just coming out with bandages on his shoulder. Auden ran up to him and hugged him with such a force, he almost fell backwards.

"Does it hurt?" she asked, pointing to his shoulder.

"Not so much anymore," he smiled as he hugged her again.

Auden then spotted Harry coming out of the hospital tent. "One minute," she said to Cedric. She ran over to Harry and threw her arms around him. "Congratulations, you were amazing!" she cried.

"Thanks, Aud," he smiled.

Auden gave him one last hug before catching up to Cedric again. They began to walk back to the castle in silence. Cedric knew something was bothering her, so she told him about her fight with Fred.

"Forget him," Cedric said. "He's obviously got his wand in a knot about something. If it's still the Quidditch thing, then I don't know how many times I can say I'm sorry."

"You only needed to say it once. Fred just seems to have trouble accepting it." But while Auden was still angry at Fred, she knew that forgetting him was about as easy as paying attention in History of Magic.

When she got back to the common room later, it was crowded with people who were all standing around Harry. Auden squeezed her way to the front and saw Fred and George with Harry on their shoulders. When they put him down, Fred glared at her before turning away. Auden couldn't take it anymore. She was angry at Fred, but she couldn't bear not being his friend. She cared about him too much to lose him forever. She managed to calmly walk up the stairs to her dorm before flinging herself onto her bed and finally letting the tears fall. She heard the door open behind her.

"Want to talk about it?" Hermione asked.

"Fred won't talk to me! He hates me all because I'm dating 'the enemy'! Auden sniffled.

"He doesn't hate you." Hermione sat down and started rubbing Auden's back.

"Yes, he does! I lost one of my best friends."

"Auden? You like Cedric a lot right?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I do," she said.

"Then Fred should be happy for you no matter what. He will be eventually if you really are truly happy with Cedric."

"That's what George said, too," Auden sighed. "But I don't know what to do! I don't want to apologize because I don't think I did anything wrong! But he's so stubborn that he won't apologize either. From his perspective, _he's_ the one not doing anything wrong. He'll only apologize if he realizes that he's being stupid...which he won't."

Hermione smiled. "He cares about you very much, Aud. He'll make things right because he needs you in his life. Trust me on this, okay?"

Auden sighed before finally nodding. "I hope you're right, Hermione. I really hope so."

* * *

**A/N: The song that was the influence for the chapter title is **_**Just So You Know **_**by Jesse McCartney.**


	19. Chapter 18: What I Just Realized

A little less than a month later, in the second week of December, the Gryffindors in years four and up were instructed to meet in an empty classroom.

"Girls on one side, and boys on the other," Professor McGonagall ordered.

Auden sat down next to Hermione. Professor McGonagall began explaining about the Yule Ball, a dance on Christmas Eve. The girls began to talk excitedly, but Professor McGonagall held up her hand for silence. After she had done so, Auden noticed Ron muttering something to Seamus. Apparently, Professor McGonagall noticed as well, because she grabbed Ron's sleeve and pulled him to his feet.

_This should be interesting, _Auden thought as she smirked. She then caught Fred's eye. He was smirking at Ron as well. Their eyes met and they held each other's gaze for a few seconds before they both looked away. They still weren't speaking to each other and it was torture. At the same time, Auden didn't feel as if she should be the one to say anything to him first. He had been the one to snap at her first. He was the one being irrational.

Professor McGonagall was now telling Ron to put his hand on her waist, much to his horror. "Where?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"My waist, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall repeated.

Auden let out an uncontrollable snort at the same time that Fred wolf whistled. Professor McGonagall gave Auden a stern look. Auden noticed Fred giving her a look too, but it was an amused one, unlike the look from Professor McGonagall. It was like they were friends again, but then Fred seemed to remember he wasn't speaking to her and he looked away.

When Auden was younger she used to snort all the time when she laughed. Even now, she occasionally snorted every so often. Fred used to laugh at her, pull his nose up to resemble a pig's snout, and imitate Auden's snorts. It had always been sort of a joke between them. Fred would make her laugh, she would snort and he would tease her. But Auden never got mad because she knew that Fred actually liked the snorts.

Auden suddenly snapped out of her daydream to see Professor McGonagall and Ron now dancing around the room. Fred and George were humming with the music and dancing in place. Auden giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn't help herself.

"Everyone grab a partner," called Professor McGonagall. Auden sighed. Normally, she would dance with Fred, but they weren't speaking. Cedric wasn't in her house, so he wasn't even there.

"Want to dance?" asked a voice. Auden looked up and saw George standing there.

"You know what George? I think you should dance with Katie," Auden whispered.

"Are you sure?" George asked.

"Positive. I'll go dance with Neville. Oh, and George?"

"Yes?" George looked back at her.

"Ask her to the ball," Auden smiled.

George went over to Katie while Auden approached Neville. As they danced, Neville suddenly asked what was going on with her and Fred.

"We aren't speaking at the current moment," Auden said with a sniff, noticing Fred dancing with Angelina.

"Oh, that's kind of funny. I mean, I never thought I'd see the day when you guys weren't speaking," Neville said. "You and the Weasleys are so close. Everyone knows that."

"It's been over a month now," Auden pointed out.

"He misses you," Neville blurted.

"No, he doesn't. If he did, he would talk to me." Auden rolled her eyes.

"Do you miss him?"

Auden sighed. She saw no point in lying. "A lot," she whispered, "but he's been acting so odd and I don't know why. I told him to drop whatever he had against Cedric. The Quidditch thing was last year, and-,"

"I don't think that's the problem anymore," Neville said, clearing his throat.

"You don't?"

"How did you know George liked Katie?" Neville asked calmly.

Auden blinked in surprise, but answered the question. "He always talks about her, even if he won't admit it and it's just the way he always looks at her when she's around. It's like she's the-," she stopped and looked down.

"The what?" Neville prodded.

"The best thing on Earth," Auden whispered. She finally understood what Neville was getting at. "Neville, I don't think Fred likes me."

"You don't?"

"I mean," she glanced over at Fred and Angelina, "I've been getting the sense that something's going on with him and Angelina and it's no secret that she's liked him ever since they first met. And she's older than me, and pretty, and—well, it doesn't matter because I'm with Cedric, so I shouldn't care, but just look at the two of them." She gestured towards Fred and Angelina. "He doesn't like me."

"Okay," Neville shrugged, "but I don't think you'll find a more logical explanation as to why Fred's been acting so odd."

Auden just sighed. "Look, Neville, Ron and Hermione have been hinting that Fred likes me, too, but I don't think it's possible."

"Why not?"

"I've just said I think he has something with Angelina, didn't I?" Auden said, looking at the ground. "Didn't you hear any of that?"

"I did, but how do you explain the reasons for Ron and Hermione thinking Fred likes _you_?"

"I don't know...a fluke? But honestly, I don't want to think about this right now. It's just way too confusing and making things so much more complicated than they should be."

"Okay," Neville answered. After a moment, he grinned. "Then you can help me with my dancing instead."

"You're actually not that bad, Neville," Auden told him.

"I haven't stepped on your toes once."

"That is a plus," Auden giggled.

Neville laughed with her. "You think I can keep this up?"

Auden nodded. "Definitely."

Once the dance lesson was over, Auden met up with Cedric. They both had some free time, so they walked around the lake and talked about the ball.

"Did you buy your dress yet?" Cedric asked.

"Yeah, I bought it in Hogsmeade last weekend. It's gorgeous. The lady at the store said the color was peacock blue and it's strapless and goes to the floor. It also has this triangle shaped cutout that goes from my hip to the floor and there's black fabric under it," Auden described.

"I'm sure you'll look wonderful," Cedric smiled. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing, it's just that you seem kind of out of it and…distant lately. It's probably just me though. My mind playing tricks or something," Auden smiled.

Cedric said nothing. He just silently pushed a piece of hair out of Auden's face. Then, he changed the subject to Quidditch.

An hour later, Auden was in the great hall during a study hour for the Gryffindors. She was next to Ron, and somehow, Fred and George ended up across the table. Ron and Harry were discussing how neither one of them had a date for the ball yet.

"Psst!" Fred threw a note at Ron. Auden managed to read it from where she was sitting. It said: "Better get a move on or all the good ones will have gone."

Ron looked up at Fred. "Who are you going with, then?"

Auden's stomach suddenly clenched. She knew in the back of her mind that Fred would be going to the ball with _someone_, but she had the thought in her head that he wouldn't be going with anyone. She didn't really know why she had thought that. It was suddenly obvious that he was going to ask Angelina. She could feel it.

Sure enough, she watched as Fred threw a paper at Angelina. She looked at him and he mimed dancing and mouthed "Will you go to the ball with me?" Angelina nodded excitedly.

Auden looked down at her work. Why in the world was she so upset? Why did she wish she was in Angelina's place right now? She thought that maybe she knew deep down, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it. It was just what Neville said earlier messing with her head.

At dinner the next night, Auden sat down between Ron and Harry and across from Hermione. "I'm starving," she announced. Harry, Ron, and Hermione glanced at one another.

"She doesn't know, does she?" Ron asked Harry.

"Know what?" asked Auden, but she didn't get an answer because Cedric came over at that moment to say hi. He bent over the bench and put his chin on Auden's shoulder.

"Hi," he said, stretching out the word.

For some reason, Auden found this funny, so she laughed and accidentally snorted.

Cedric jerked his head away. "What was that?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Sorry, sometimes I snort when I laugh," Auden answered, smiling.

"Try not to do that anymore," Cedric told her.

"Why not?" Auden asked, realizing he was serious.

"I don't know…it's so…strange," answered Cedric. "Well, I've got to go, I'll see you later. Love you." He gave Auden a quick kiss on the cheek before going off to his own table.

"Are my snorts strange?" Auden asked.

"They're funny," Harry told her. "It's not like you do it all the time, and you can't help it anyway."

Auden said nothing. She just stared at her dinner. When she looked up, she saw Fred sitting with Angelina a few feet down the table. They were holding hands. Auden dropped her fork and her mouth fell open.

"Oi, your jaw just fell on my foot," Ron said, trying to make her laugh. Auden's expression didn't even change.

"That's what we were going to tell you. They're dating now. He asked her out this morning," Harry said softly.

Without a world, Auden stood up and left the room. Once she reached the staircase, she broke into a run. She ran all the way to her dorm until she was finally lying on her bed, crying. Auden had finally understood. She understood why she hadn't been able to get Fred off her mind, why their fight had affected her so much and why Fred had been acting odd. She now knew what Hermione had been talking about. She also knew that Neville had been right. She was in love with Fred Weasley and he had been in love with her until she blew it. He liked Angelina now and the realization was enough to make her cry until she finally fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Auden felt like she was on auto pilot all day. She felt like a zombie and barely talked, except to reassure Cedric that she was fine.

"Are you going to break up with him now that you've had your big realization?" Ron asked in the common room that night. He was sitting on the couch next to Auden, doing his Potions homework, under Hermione's watch, who was sitting in the chair across from him. She looked up at Auden when Ron asked her about Cedric.

"Not now, when the Yule Ball is tomorrow night," Auden answered. "I can't do that to him. I'll do it after the Yule Ball. It might be for the better anyway, because he's been so distant lately. I get the feeling that the feelings just flopped for both of us. That doesn't fix the problem of Fred and Angelina, though."

"Oh, so you know?" asked George, coming to sit on Auden's other side.

"Of course. It's impossible to not know, with them holding hands, and being all…yuck." Auden answered, crinkling her nose.

"Oh, yes...like you are with Cedric…gotcha," George smirked.

Auden glared at him.

"Sorry, I know, not helping." George held up his hands.

"I'm breaking up with Cedric after the ball anyway," Auden informed George.

"She finally realized she was in love with Fred," Ron added.

"Finally," George threw up his hands. Then he nudged Auden gently. "He still loves you, you know."

"Don't get my hopes up. He's with Angelina now," Auden mumbled.

"Well, personally, I don't know why he is. I suggested he ask her out, but I didn't think he'd do it. I knew he had it bad for you. Anyway, I'm his twin so I know he still likes you. A lot. He still talks about you even though you guys are 'fighting'. He also still looks at you the same way he did over the summer." George said.

"Like you're the best thing on this Earth," added Ron, smiling.

Auden half smiled. "Well, aren't I?"

"There's the Auden I know," George laughed.

"He doesn't look at me like that," Auden whispered. "He doesn't even look at me at all anymore."

"Ah, but see, he does. You just aren't paying attention."

"I have a feeling everything will work out," Ron said, patting Auden's knee.

"I hope so," Auden sighed. "I can't believe I was so _stupid._ I mean, Cedric's a great guy and he's always been great to me. I feel like I'm being a jerk to him, but Fred's always been there and he accepts me the way I am. He doesn't mind if I snort when I laugh. I know Angelina's liked him for ages but I mean does she see the way his eyes light up when he smiles or when he's planning a prank? Or does she know that when he's nervous, he rubs the back of his neck? Sometimes I feel like she doesn't know him like I do."

"Well, she probably does know that stuff," Ron said. "She has known him for about six years now."

Auden groaned and George glared at Ron. "You're an idiot," he said.

"Sorry," Ron muttered.

George looked down at Auden with a smile. "Fred will come around. He'll realize he's not happy with Angelina."

"What I'd like to know is why _I_ couldn't have realized everything sooner," Auden said. "I mean, I thought Fred hated Cedric because of the Quidditch thing last year! And it took me seeing him with Angelina to realize that I'm in love with him."

"Yeah, I think you were the only one a little behind on the feelings," George said. "Usually, you're very good at that. Like with me and Katie."

"How are things going with her, by the way? Have you asked her out yet?"

George blushed. "No, not yet."

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

"You're one to talk," George muttered. Auden groaned and threw her quill at him.

The portrait hole opened then, and Fred and Angelina came in. Auden stared at Fred and he stared right back. They were both expressionless, but it was just like the time in the Leaky Cauldron. For all they knew, time had stopped and they were the only two people in the world.

The moment was broken by Angelina pulling on Fred's arm. "Fred, let's go sit down," she whined.

"More like let's go snog each other senseless," Auden mumbled as she turned away.

"Now do you see what we're saying?" Ron asked.

"What do you mean?"

"The way he was looking at you," Hermione chimed in.

Auden looked down. "I don't know. All I know is that something weird happened. I could feel it."

"I think we all did, actually," Ron muttered.

"He's so in love with you, Aud," George whispered before squeezing Auden's hand and heading off to his dorm.

Auden decided that Ron and George had a point, and the only thing she could do now was cross her fingers and hope for the best.

Later on, while getting ready for bed, Hermione came storming into the dorm. "If Ron asks me one more time who I'm going to the ball with, I'm going to scream," she announced.

"Why don't you just tell him you're going with Viktor?" Auden asked.

"Because I like watching him suffer," Hermione smirked. "Even if it means he won't leave me alone."

Auden smiled. "Hermione, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, of course….what is it?"

"Do you like Ron?"

"Well, he can be very funny. And nice, too, even if he can be rude and-,"

"No, I mean, do you _like _him?"

Hermione paused. "Well, I…he's…well, no!"

Auden smirked. "Okay, Hermione."

"I really don't ," Hermione clarified, but she didn't sound like she meant it.

_Seems like I'm not the only one not realizing what my true feelings are,_ Auden thought as she crawled into bed.

* * *

Cedric was lying on the couch in the Hufflepuff common room, with his feet dangling over the arm while he just stared at the ceiling.

"Hey, what's up Ced?" Justin Finch Fletchley asked, coming over and sitting on the table in front of the couch. "You're usually more talkative."

"I need to break up with Auden," Cedric said in a dead sounding voice, still staring at the ceiling.

"Why? I thought everything was going great with her."

Cedric sighed. "It is, but my father's been pressuring me to break up with her."

"Why?" Justin said, confused.

"He doesn't think she's right for me." His tone said that he didn't want to say any more about his father.

"So you're going to give your dad what he wants?" Justin asked.

"You don't have to live with him and hear him pestering you all the time," Cedric answered. "Even when I'm here, he writes me constantly, so I can't get away."

"Why should you break up with Auden if you still like her?" Justin's frustration was showing in his voice now. "You do still like her don't you?"

"Yes," Cedric said miserably. "But I can't be with her. My father wants me to date another girl. He keeps bringing up Cho Chang in his letters. Her parents are close with mine and my dad thinks Cho would be perfect for me."

"Who cares about your father?" Justin asked. "Go with your gut feeling."

"I care about my dad," Cedric whispered. "I don't always agree with him, but he's still my dad."

Justin was silent. "So, you're just going to date Cho after you break up with Auden?" he asked after a few seconds.

"Yeah, I guess so. She clearly likes me so maybe I'll give her a chance. Who knows, I might grow to really like her…"

"And you'll be over Auden," Justin finished.

"Unfortunately yes," Cedric replied. "I wish it didn't have to end this way."

"All good things must come to an end, I guess, mate," Justin shrugged as he got up and left Cedric alone.

Cedric hadn't told Justin the whole story. He hadn't told him about his small hunch that Auden was possibly falling for someone else. A certain red headed Gryffindor to be exact.

* * *

**A/N: I hope everyone liked the chapter :) Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 19: The Yule Ball

The next morning, Auden was sitting by the common room fire with Hermione, doing some of their homework. Despite the fact that it wouldn't be due until classes started up again, Hermione had wanted to get it done to free up the rest of the break and Auden had to admit she made a good point. Besides that, Ron and Harry hadn't come down into the common room yet, Auden still wasn't speaking to Fred, and she hadn't made plans with Cedric, so there wasn't much else for her to do.

When Harry and Ron finally came downstairs, they started up a game of wizards chess. When lunchtime finally arrived, Auden tagged along behind her friends as they headed to the great hall. If she was honest with herself, her stomach was in knots about breaking up with Cedric. She could think of little else, actually. She felt terrible about it, but she couldn't just string him along if she had feelings for Fred. But even still, that didn't change the fact that Fred was with Angelina now. Whether or not what George had said about Fred still liking her was true, it didn't change the fact that as of that very moment, he was dating Angelina.

"You're quiet today, Aud," Ron commented as the four of them sat down at the Gryffindor table in the great hall. "How come?"

"Why do you think, Ron?" Hermione asked with a sigh.

"Because of Fred?" Ron asked, glancing down the table at Fred, who was sitting next to Angelina.

"Yeah," Auden whispered as she watched Fred kiss Angelina's temple while her stomach churned. "And I'm nervous about breaking up with Cedric. What if he hates me?"

"He won't," Hermione assured her. "You've done nothing wrong. Breaking up with him now is actually the better thing to do."

Auden took in a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, you're right." She began putting food on her plate and decided to not watch Fred and Angelina anymore. It was only going to make her feel worse.

"Fred keeps glancing over here," Hermione said a moment later, her voice a whisper.

"Oh," Auden answered, keeping her eyes on her plate. She didn't know what to make of that. It actually made her stomach flutter, but at the same time, she wished he wouldn't keep looking.

"He, George, Lee and Angelina are getting up," Ron added. "They're coming this way."

"Well, they have to in order to leave," Auden said.

"I know, but I'm just letting you know," Ron replied, "since you refuse to look up from your food."

From the corner of her eye, Auden saw the twins, Angelina and Lee walking closer and closer. She moved her food around her plate nervously, even though she figured they would walk right by her. That was why she was surprised to see them stop beside her. Her stomach clenched.

"Hey," George said, "did you four want to join us for a snowball fight outside? Alicia and Katie are supposed to join us too and the more the merrier, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Ron said excitedly as Hermione nudged him and tilted her head slightly towards Auden.

"You guys go," Auden said quickly. "I have homework to finish, anyway."

"No, you're coming," George said, sitting backwards on the bench beside her and leaning against the table. "You have to."

"Why?" Auden muttered, glancing at him.

He leaned forward and picked some of her food off her plate. "Fred wants you to," he hissed in her ear as he did so.

Auden shot him a look and gave her head a miniscule shake. "Don't," she whispered. She didn't want to spend any time with Fred that wasn't necessary. It was painful. It was painful that he still wasn't speaking to her and painful that he was with Angelina. She couldn't do it.

George smiled and stood up, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet as he did so. "You're coming." He looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Are you three in?"

They nodded and stood up from their seats as well. As George began pulling Auden towards the door, she chanced a glance at Fred, who was holding Angelina's hand, but looking at Auden, his expression unreadable. She glanced away and let George lead her towards the door.

"Do you really think I want to watch him and Angelina be all...romantic?" she hissed as they headed for the common room to get coats, hats and scarves.

"No, but I want you two to start talking again. All you've done is grow apart and argue in the past month and I don't want that. You've always been a close friend, Aud, and even if things don't work out between you and Fred, I want you two to still be friends. You can't let such a good thing be ruined."

Auden snorted and looked away as they entered the common room. "It's not ruined."

"It's well on its way there," George told her, nudging her towards the girls' dormitory. "Now go get your things and make sure you come back downstairs. Don't go and hide. Promise?"

"Fine, but only because you're my friend," Auden told him with a slight smile. "And you've actually been nice to me."

George shook his head and smiled before following Harry, Ron, Fred and Lee up the stairs to the boys dormitories.

Auden headed upstairs and grabbed her coat, scarf and a hat before following Hermione back downstairs where they met up with the others.

If Auden was honest with herself, she actually had fun during the snowball fight. It kept her busy, despite the fact that Fred and Angelina were around. They didn't exactly talk to each other, but Fred did let out a laugh when Auden hit George in the face with a snowball. And he laughed even harder when George chased her and stuck snow down the back of her coat, causing Auden to shriek. It was just how he would normally react to that kind of situation, which made Auden think that he wasn't truly angry at her at all anymore. Maybe George had been right in saying that their friendship was too good to allow it to be ruined.

Finally, it was time to go get ready for the ball. At least for Auden and Hermione anyway. The boys apparently didn't need as much time.

"Where are you two going?" Ron shouted as the two girls headed for the castle.

"To get ready," Auden called back. "Where do you think?"

"You need three hours to get ready?" Ron asked, wrinkling his nose and lightly tossing a snowball up and down in the palm of his hand.

Auden smiled and nodded. "We do."

"I better not recognize you later on, then," Ron teased, tossing the snowball in his hand at Auden. It hit her shoulder and she giggled before glancing at Hermione.

"Maybe you won't," she said as Hermione smiled and blushed slightly. Auden knew all about her plan to make her hair the least bushy it had ever been. Nobody else knew, so it was going to be a huge shock to see Hermione without her usual curls.

"We should probably get inside, too," Angelina chimed in, gesturing to herself, Alicia and Katie. "We'll walk back with you." She gave Fred a quick kiss before turning to catch up with Auden and Hermione. Auden practically found herself scowling.

"I will never understand how boys can get ready for a ball in a matter of minutes," Angelina sighed as they trudged back through the snow towards the castle.

"Mm," Auden agreed, glancing back over her shoulder at the boys. She was a little surprised to see Fred watching her. Not Angelina, but her. She half-smiled and her surprise intensified when she saw him half-smile back. Then, he was hit in the face with a snowball thrown by Lee and the moment was broken.

* * *

"You look gorgeous, Aud, you really do," Hermione whispered. They had just finished getting ready for the ball and Auden was standing in front of the mirror, looking over her shoulder to try to get a view of herself from the back.

"You look amazing too," Auden said, a huge grin on her face as she turned to face her friend.

"You think so?" Hermione asked, lightly touching her hair.

Auden nodded and smiled. "You really do." She tilted her head towards the door. "Come on, let's go. Cedric and Viktor will be waiting for us."

The two girls walked down to the entrance hall together to meet up with Viktor and Cedric. Just before they were about to round the corner to the entrance hall stairs, Hermione stopped.

"What's wrong?" Auden asked, turning around and looking at Hermione questioningly.

"I'm nervous," Hermione whispered, her eyes wide.

Auden smiled. "There's nothing to be nervous about, Hermione."

"Everyone's going to stare at me because I look different. I actually look pretty tonight."

"What are you talking about? You look pretty all the time," Auden said with a wave of her hand.

Hermione smiled slightly. "They're still all going to stare at me."

"Not if I walk down with you," Auden teased, finally getting a small giggle out of Hermione. "But who cares if they stare because they think you look pretty? That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"I suppose so," Hermione said slowly.

Auden smiled. "Come on."

The two of them rounded the corner and began making their way down the stairs. Auden looked up and saw that a lot of people _were_ staring at Hermione, who had almost a shy look on her face.

Auden continued to scan the room and her eyes fell on Harry, who was standing with Parvati slightly to the left of the bottom of the stairs. He was grinning at the two girls widely.

"Look at Fred," Hermione whispered to Auden. "He's standing over by the front door with George, Katie and Angelina."

Auden did as Hermione said and glanced in the direction she had indicated. Fred was staring at her. Just her. It was as if Hermione wasn't even there. Auden couldn't even begin to describe the look of affection and awe on his face, but it actually made her stomach drop. "Why is he looking at me like that?" she whispered, her voice slightly squeaky.

"Because he still likes you and you look beautiful," Hermione answered with a knowing grin as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Viktor came over almost immediately and gave Auden a slight nod of acknowledgement before holding his arm out to Hermione, who took it with a shy smile.

Auden grinned and watched them walk away before turning to Harry. "Look at you all dressed up," she said with a smile.

Harry laughed. "Enjoy it while you can. You look wonderful, by the way. And so did Hermione. I almost didn't recognize her and she's one of my best friends."

"I know!" Auden exclaimed. "She was worried about everyone staring at her. But it's because she looks gorgeous, so it's not the bad staring. Where's Ron?"

"He's already in the great hall. McGonagall's been shooing everyone who's not a champion or a champion's date inside."

"Why?" Auden asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

"Because we have to start the first dance," Parvati chimed in.

"We do?" Auden said in surprise. She had no problem with dancing in public, but a little bit of a warning would have been nice.

"Yeah, we just found out," Harry told her. "I'm panicking."

Auden smiled. "You'll be fine, Harry. If you can take on a dragon, you can do this."

Harry nodded. "That's what Ron said, too."

Just then, someone tapped Auden on the shoulder. She turned around and saw Cedric standing there. Her stomach flopped with nerves when she saw him. She had managed to not think about breaking up with him since that morning, but now the thought had jumped right back into her head.

"You look amazing," he whispered, reaching out and taking her hand.

"Thank you. You look very handsome," she answered. It was true. He certainly did look nice.

Cedric smiled before leaning down and kissing her gently. "Sorry it took me so long to find you. I saw you walk down the stairs, but it's crowded and I kept seeing friends that wanted to talk."

"Of course you did, Mr. Popular," Auden teased. "Did you hear we have to start the first dance?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Why, does that make you nervous?"

Auden shrugged. "Not too much. I'd say I'm a good enough dancer where I don't really have to worry about making a fool out of myself."

Cedric laughed. "I think I can say the same, but you'll have to let me know how I do."

"I'm sure we'll both be fine," Auden said with a giggle. Instinctively, she glanced back towards the spot where Fred had been standing, but he was gone. George, Angelina and Katie were gone as well. They had probably already gone into the great hall. Most people had, for that matter.

Once the entrance hall had completely emptied except for the champions and their dates, McGonagall began lining them up. Fleur and her date, Roger Davies, were first, then Hermione and Krum, then Cedric and Auden, and finally, Harry and Parvati. Cedric held out his arm and Auden took it as Professor McGonagall opened the doors. "Ready Miss Parker?" Cedric asked with a smile as they began to walk.

Auden took a deep breath and smiled back. "Of course, Mr. Diggory."

* * *

"Close your mouth, Fred," George told his twin, reaching over to tap Fred's jaw upwards. "You've been giving her practically that same look since she walked down the stairs."

"Have you _seen _her, though?" whispered Fred, keeping his voice low enough so George could hear but not Angelina. He had found it almost impossible to take his eyes off of Auden since she had come downstairs. She looked absolutely beautiful and his jealousy of Cedric was flaring up worse than ever.

George just smiled. He watched Fred continue to stare at Auden. "I knew you still liked her," he whispered as Fred turned bright red. It was true. He knew for sure that he wanted Auden for himself and probably always would. And that actually wasn't fair to Angelina, who was a wonderful person and deserved someone who treated her a lot better than Fred was treating her right now.

Just then, the music began and the four champions started dancing. Fred kept his eyes on Auden and Cedric. For some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off of Cedric's hand on Auden's waist. It was driving him nuts.

"Poor Harry," George said. "He looks incredibly uncomfortable."

"Mm," Fred grunted in agreement, despite the fact that he never even looked at Harry. He only had eyes for Auden.

When everyone else was finally invited to join in the dancing, Fred managed to tear his gaze away from Auden and hold out a hand to Angelina. But then his eyes darted right back to Auden, who was dancing right over Angelina's shoulder.

"You love her don't you?" asked Angelina. She sounded a little sad.

"What?" Fred asked, his voice distant. He had only half heard what Angelina had said.

"Fred, look at me." Angelina reached up and turned his head towards her. "I can see it all over your face. Even after you asked me out, I saw it in your eyes every time you looked at her. I've always liked you so I never said anything, but I want you to be happy. Clearly, that's with Auden."

"Ange," Fred began. Now her words were finally settling in and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had he really been that obvious?

"I saw that look on your face when she walked down the stairs," Angelina whispered. "And you've been looking at her like that ever since. It's actually how you look at her all the time." She let out a quiet laugh and shook her head. "It's the way I always wished you'd look at me."

"Ange, you're still one of my best friends. You know that, don't you?" Fred managed to whisper. He couldn't bear it if he lost her as a friend. He may not have liked her romantically, but he still cared for her quite a bit.

She nodded, even though Fred could see tears in her eyes. Great. Even though Fred knew she was right about his feelings for Auden, he still didn't want her to be hurt. He didn't want her to cry because of him.

"I'm so sorry," he said.

"I know, and I'll be okay," Angelina said. She blinked back her tears and smiled slightly before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. Then, she turned on her heel and just like that, she was gone.

* * *

"Auden, I want to tell you something," Cedric said, about halfway through the ball.

"What is it?" Auden asked as he led her to the entrance hall.

"Well, I was going to wait until later, but," he sighed. "I think we need to…"

"Break up?" Auden suggested, hardly daring to believe Cedric was on the same wavelength as her about their relationship.

"Well, yeah, how did you…?"

"Well, I've been kind of noticing how you've been kind of distant lately and I think that the feelings are kind of fading. You like someone else, right?"

"No, it's my fa-, actually yes that's right…I like Cho Chang," Cedric said the last part rather quickly.

Auden nodded somewhat sadly. "Yeah, she's really nice. And she definitely likes you. Her friends were some of the people who would give me dirty looks when you and I started dating, but she was always really nice about it, even though I'm fairly certain she liked you at the time. She _still _likes you, actually."

"I don't even have to ask about you," Cedric said. He smiled, but Auden could see it in his eyes that he was upset. "I've seen the way you and Fred look at each other…"

Auden smiled. "Not this again," she laughed quietly.

"You've heard it before?"

"A few times," she sighed. "But honestly, I was so nervous about having to break up with you. I feel terrible and I still want to be friends. I don't want this to ruin our relationship." Auden looked into his hazel eyes. "I don't want you to hate me. I mean, I didn't plan this. Neither of us did. It just happened."

Cedric smiled. "I could never hate you," he whispered. There was a pause. "I don't know why I even did this in the middle of the ball, but it's been kind of a weight on my chest for a while and I suspected you had some kind of feelings for Fred...Maybe I wanted you to be able to be happy for at least some part of the dance."

Auden shook her head. "Fred's here with Angelina. I'm not going to take him away from his date."

Cedric smiled. "Ah, but Angelina has been spending most of the night with Alicia and her date. She hasn't been with Fred since the first dance."

"Why?" Auden asked. That had been news to her. She had looked for Fred a few times since the ball had started, but there had been so many people and she hadn't been able to locate him. Or even George, for that matter.

"I think they broke up," Cedric said in a low voice. He smiled. "And that means you have a fair shot to go talk to him and go to the ball with the guy you _really_ want to be here with."

"Cedric...you're a wonderful person. And the feelings I had for you were real. I just want you to know that," Auden said.

Cedric nodded and swallowed. "I know," he whispered.

Auden sighed. "Why don't you go back in and talk to Cho? If I have a fair shot at spending some part of the night with Fred, then you have a fair shot at spending the night with her."

"You won't hold it against me?" Cedric asked, half smiling.

"Of course not," Auden laughed.

Cedric smiled before kissing her forehead and going back inside the great hall. Auden decided to take a walk outside. She wasn't ready to go back to dancing just yet. Just as she reached the front door, she heard someone calling her name. She turned around to see Fred running out of the great hall.

"Auden," he panted. "It's Cedric…he's-"

"Oh, talking to me now, are you?" Auden asked, narrowing her eyes and turning to walk away. She couldn't help but still feel a bit upset with him. She still didn't think she had done anything wrong and he hadn't said a word to her in a month.

"Auden, listen to me!" Fred cried, grabbing her arm and spinning her towards him. "Cedric's in there right now, talking to Cho Chang! I think he asked her to dance. I just-I couldn't have him do that to you. You're his date. You're his _girlfriend_!"

Auden stared at him for a moment. "Did you and Angelina really break up?"

Fred blinked at her. "Yeah, but why-how did you-?"

"That's just what Cedric told me," Auden muttered, looking down.

"How would he know that? Why would he care?" Fred asked. "And aren't you upset that he went off to dance with Cho?"

"No, I told him to," Auden answered.

"You what? Why?" Fred was looking more confused by the second and Auden really couldn't blame him. But all she knew right then was that her heart was pounding wildly and it felt almost impossible for her to make any sense.

"We broke up about two minutes ago," she finally answered.

"Why?" Fred asked. "Are you okay?" He tried to look concerned and worried, but he was having a tough time hiding his happiness.

"I'm fine. It was a mutual break up. I noticed he had been distant lately and assumed maybe he liked someone else. And he assumed the same for me."

"Well, it's clear that he definitely—wait, so you _both_-I just mean...you like someone else? Someone who's not Cedric?" Fred asked.

"Mhm," Auden said with a smirk, looking up at him.

"Who do you…?" Fred began.

"You," Auden whispered, her heart racing even faster. This could either end badly or wonderfully, depending on whether what George had told her was true or not.

Fred stared at her for a moment, his face unreadable. Auden was beginning to wonder if she had just done something completely stupid when Fred reached out and rubbed his thumb across the thin scar over Auden's eye. His eyes moved back to meet hers. "I always loved that scar," he whispered.

"Just the scar?" Auden whispered back. She was teasing him, but at the same time, she felt incapable of talking above a whisper. Just the simple gesture of touching her face was making her stomach flip.

Fred smiled. The next thing Auden knew, his left hand had found hers. As their fingers intertwined, he slid his right hand around her waist and pulled her closer. And before she knew it, he was kissing her, she was kissing back, and everything felt completely and totally right.


	21. Chapter 20:The Greatest Fan of Your Life

As Auden slowly opened her eyes and looked into Fred's face, her smile widened. She had just kissed Fred and it was everything she had imagined it would be. It was gentle and sweet, but at the same time it had made her head spin. It was kind of like Fred himself.

"Wow," Fred said, staring down at her with a slight smile. "I've wanted to know what that would feel like for months."

"And?" asked Auden. They were still holding hands and their faces were still inches apart. She could probably count every freckle on Fred's face if she wanted to. Besides that, she could still feel Fred's hand on her lower back and it was practically driving her insane with giddiness.

"It was amazing," Fred breathed.

Auden laughed. "I agree," she said. Suddenly, a song came on in the Great Hall. It was a Muggle song, but Auden and Fred both knew it well.

"This brings back memories, doesn't it?" Fred asked, jerking his head towards the Great Hall.

"You remember the song?" Auden asked.

"Of course I do. How could I forget? It was the song that was playing when I first started having feelings for you."

"That night in the Leaky Cauldron?" Auden blinked as she processed what Fred had said. He had liked her all that time?

"Yeah," Fred nodded. "When we were dancing and your mum took that picture of us."

Auden smiled. "Something definitely changed that night, but I had no idea what until recently. I was so stupid for not realizing it sooner, Fred."

"Maybe only a little stupid," Fred smirked.

Auden swatted him. He grinned and pulled away as he began to lead her back into the great hall.

"Wait," Auden said, pulling on his hand to stop him. "Let's dance right here."

"Are you sure? We're in the entrance hall, you know that right?" Fred gave her a look that was a mix of confusion and amusement.

"I know, and I don't care," she answered.

Fred smiled and stepped closer, putting his hands around Auden's waist again as she put her arms around his neck.

"I really just can't believe it took so long for me to realize I liked you," Auden said again. "I mean, I think I've always known it, but it took a while for me to actually realize it and now I kind of wish I had realized it sooner. Not that I hated being with Cedric, but everything feels so right with you and—," she had begun to talk faster and faster and then Fred cut her off.

"No offense, but you're babbling," Fred grinned.

"Sorry," Auden blushed.

"Don't be sorry. I agree with what you said. And for the record, I love when you babble."

Auden smiled and rested her head on Fred's chest. He pulled her closer to him, and her stomach was doing gymnastics as Fred started singing along to the song in a whisper in her ear.

As the song ended, Auden and Fred had just moved apart from each other, when Ron and Hermione ran into the entrance hall, arguing.

"…ask me before somebody else does, and not as a last resort!" Hermione was yelling. She didn't even notice Fred and Auden as she turned and ran upstairs.

Ron, however, turned and saw Auden and Fred holding hands. His eyes widened with surprise and glee. "Are you two…official?"

"Yep," answered Fred, holding up his and Auden's intertwined hands.

"Finally…it took you long enough," grinned Ron. He looked at Auden. "And as for you...well, I told you so."

Auden blushed and looked at the ground as she tried to hold back her smile. "Yes, you did," she said quietly. She looked up at Fred. "Even Ron knew something was going on between the two of us. How bad is that if he even picked up on it before we did?"

Fred groaned and let out a laugh. "I'm ashamed."

"You should be," Ron teased. He glanced at the stairs. "Anyway, I'm done here for the night. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Fred and Auden said goodnight as Ron disappeared up the stairs. Just as he disappeared, George and Katie came out of the great hall, holding hands as well.

"Are you…?" Fred and George began at the same time, looking at each other.

"Oh, Merlin," Auden breathed as she let out a laugh. "This is ridiculous."

"I may have wanted you two to get together," George said, "but not on the same night Katie and I did. It just steals our thunder."

"Shut up," Fred muttered, sending a smile his twin's way as another song came on in the great hall. It was the last song of the night seeing as the Yule ball was scheduled to end in a few minutes.

George led Katie to the dance floor and Fred led Auden. Cedric was across the room with Cho, who looked thrilled to be dancing with Cedric. "I almost feel like we cheated on each other," Auden whispered, glancing at the couple across the room.

Fred reached out and gently turned Auden's face so that she was looking at him. "Don't worry about him," he said quietly. "He's happy now and so are you." He paused. "You are happy now, aren't you?"

Auden smiled up at Fred. "Of course," she answered. "I wouldn't be dancing with you if I wasn't." As the song ended, they stopped dancing, and Auden's stomach flipped as Fred leaned in and gently kissed her again. Auden was only partially aware of George whooping from behind them. All she cared about at the moment was Fred.

The final notes of the song rang out through the room, and Auden felt kind of sad that the night was over, but on the other hand, she was exhausted. "My feet are killing me," she said, kicking off her shoes and picking them up so she could carry them upstairs.

"I can fix that," Fred told her.

"Wha-?" Auden gasped and then let out a giggle as Fred quickly scooped her up and began to carry her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to laugh all the way up to the common room, where Fred finally sat her down on the couch. She collapsed into the warm, squishy cushions and sighed contentedly as Fred sat next to her. They sat there for a few minutes, completely oblivious to the people filtering in after the ball. After a while of just staring into the fire and processing everything that had happened, Auden looked to her left and saw Fred gazing at her with a dreamy smile on his face. "What?" she asked, giggling.

"Nothing. I just can't believe we're finally together." Fred reached out and brushed his fingers along the side of her face. "I've wanted this for a while."

Auden shivered and stared back at him for a few seconds longer. "But what about Angelina? Is she mad that you aren't together anymore?" she asked suddenly.

"No," Fred leaned back into the cushions. "We broke up, as you already know, but _she_ actually broke up with me. Apparently she could see how much I liked you."

"Wow, that's sweet of her," Auden said. "She must really like you for her to do that."

Fred shrugged. "But I like you, so…"

"Why'd you date her then? If you've liked me for so long, why'd you date her?"

"Why'd you date Cedric?" Fred retaliated.

"Because I did like him. A lot, actually. But I just never realized how I felt about you until recently and it took seeing you with Angelina to realize it."

Fred sighed. "I don't know why I dated Ange. It's horrible to say, I know, but I thought maybe I could get over you by dating her. It wasn't happening, though. I only fell harder for you every day. I was devastated when you started dating Diggory."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be…I'm sorry I acted like an idiot and pretty much avoided you and then blew up at you during the first task."

"It's okay," Auden whispered.

"No, it's not," Fred insisted. "Cedric…he really is a nice guy. I just…I didn't know how to handle losing you."

"You didn't lose me," she said. "I'm right here."

Fred rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair. Auden giggled and swatted his hand away.

"George told me that some girls were giving you a hard time about dating Cedric," Fred whispered suddenly.

She looked up at him and blinked. "He told you that?"

"Yeah," Fred nodded. "I'm so sorry, Aud. I'm sorry you had to go through that and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you during all of it. I wish you would have told me. It happened before we argued."

"I know, but I felt like you were avoiding me and I didn't think you wanted to hear anything Cedric related anyway. I thought you would get mad."

"I would have-I _am_ mad, actually, but not at you. I just don't think you should have been treated like that."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter," Auden muttered, "and I'll probably get more comments thrown at me about how I left Cedric and immedietely went running to you. It really doesn't matter, though. I just want to be happy and _that's_ all that matters." She looked up at Fred and smiled. When he opened his mouth to protest, she leaned forward and kissed him before grabbing his hand and tracing the lines on his palm with her index finger.

"Why do I get the feeling that you were more upset about all of that than you're letting on?" Fred whispered after a moment.

"It's over now," she answered, continuing to trace the lines on his palm. "There's no use being upet over it anymore."

"You and Cedric...I may not have been happy about you two dating, but if you were happy dating him at any point at all, then you completely deserved it. You know that, right?"

Auden nodded. "And I think I deserve to be happy with you, too."

Fred smiled. "Exactly, so if those girls _do_ give you more trouble, let me know, okay? I'll deal with them."

Auden laughed and shook her head. "So…do you want your Christmas gift now or later on?" She looked up and grinned at him.

"Hmm, now," Fred said anxiously.

Auden laughed and stood up to go to her dorm. "Okay, I'll go get it."

"I have to get yours too so how about we meet back down here in fifteen minutes," Fred suggested, standing up as well.

"Why fifteen minutes? Did you forget to wrap it or something?" Auden joked.

"No…I want to get out of this outfit. It's uncomfortable," Fred tugged at his tie to loosen it.

Auden laughed. "Alright, fifteen minutes."

Fifteen minutes later, Fred and Auden returned to the empty common room, both in their pajamas and carrying gift wrapped boxes. They sat back down on the couch. Auden turned sideways to face Fred and sat cross legged. "This is for you," she said, holding out the neatly wrapped box.

"And this is for you," Fred held out his box. "It's not the neatest wrapping job, but I tried," he smiled guiltily.

Auden took the box happily. "It's the thought that counts," she smiled.

"Open yours first," Fred told her.

Auden ripped open the paper and found a small black box. She opened the box and found a beautiful silver necklace. It had three hearts, all side by side and interlocked. "This is beautiful," she whispered. "Absolutely gorgeous…I love it! Thank you so much!" She leaned over and flung her arms around Fred. "Here, put it on for me," she said as she turned around and moved her hair to the side. She felt Fred's fingers brushing the back of her neck as he clasped the necklace. They seemed to linger there for a few extra seconds before he said "Okay, done."

Auden turned around and touched the necklace now dangling from her neck. "How does it look?"

"Beautiful," Fred smiled.

Auden smiled back. "Open your gift now," she told him.

Fred carefully opened the gift to reveal a dark wooden picture frame. When he saw the picture inside of it, his mouth dropped open. It was the picture Auden's mother had taken of them dancing in the Leaky Cauldron. Fred carefully moved his fingers over it and then brought it closer to his face. He watched as the picture version of himself spun the picture Auden out and then back in. They were both laughing. And then, there it was. That moment when they had been staring at each other so intently, falling for each other without entirely realizing it.

"Do you like it?" Auden's voice snapped him back to the present. "My mum got two copies of the picture developed and she bought two frames so that I could have one too. She just sent them over today. I almost laughed when you mentioned that day downstairs, but that's when I knew it was a good gift choice."

"Auden, I love it," Fred told her. He set the picture on the table and pulled Auden into a hug. "How were you planning on giving me this if we weren't speaking?" he asked when he pulled away.

"I was hoping we _would_ be speaking by Christmas," Auden sighed. "And if not, I was either going to make things right or wait until we were okay again and just give you a belated Christmas gift."

Fred smiled. "Same. I didn't want to be the one to apologize, either, even though I was the only one who did something wrong. I just...I was so upsest that you had chosen Cedric that admitting I had been a jerk would be like..." He sighed and shook his head, unsure of what to say.

"Like kicking you when you were down," Auden finished. "I get it. I just wish we had talked about this sooner."

"I couldn't tell you how I felt after you were dating Cedric. You were so happy with him. At least at first anyway. And by the time your feelings changed, I was with Angelina, even though I still liked you. It was all just bad timing and miscommunication."

"Seeing you with Angelina on the day you asked her out," Auden said slowly, "practically broke my heart. I suddenly knew what I was feeling and it terrified me. I felt bad for wasting Cedric's time, but then again, I _did _have feelings for him at some point." She sighed and leaned back against the couch cushions. "You're right. It was just a ton of bad timing." She looked at him. "But it finally worked out, didn't it? So, that's really all that matters."

Fred smiled and reached out to run a thumb along her cheekbone. "Yeah, it is," he whispered.

"I really missed you," Auden told him with a half-smile.

"I missed you too, Aud," he answered.

Suddenly, Auden stifled a yawn. She hadn't realized how tired she was until now.

"You should get to bed," Fred told her.

"But I'm not tired," Auden lied, stifling yet another yawn. Even if she was tired, she wanted to stay up and talk to Fred and make up for all their lost time.

"Yes, you are," Fred insisted with a laugh. "I would carry you to your dorm but then there's the whole slide thing and, well, I'm guessing that wouldn't work out too well."

Auden laughed as Fred stood up and pulled her to her feet. "I'll see you in the morning?" she said, looking up at him almost shyly and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She was still sort of amazed that he was her boyfriend now. And even though she had done the whole dating thing with Cedric, this was Fred. It was a completely new relationship and it still made her a little nervous.

Fred nodded and reached a hand out, running his fingertips down her arm until he got to her hand. He laced his fingers through hers before looking up to meet her eyes. "You looked so beautiful tonight. I hope you know that."

Auden blushed. "I'm glad you thought so."

"But if I'm being totally honest," Fred continued, "you look even prettier right now in your pajamas."

Auden blushed even more. "Maybe I should've worn them to the ball instead," she whispered.

Fred laughed. "You would've been the talk of the school."

"You know I'm such an attention hog," Auden giggled.

Fred smiled. "Anyway, yes, I will see you tomorrow. And thank you again for the picture. I love it. It's going on my nightstand."

"That's where mine is," Auden grinned. "And I'm glad you like it. I certainly love my necklace, that's for sure."

Fred grinned. "I'm glad," he whispered, stepping closer and sliding his hands around her waist.

"I'm never going to get to bed if you keep distracting me," Auden whispered.

"I'm not distracting you. I'm kissing you goodnight," Fred answered.

"Oh, well that's okay then," Auden replied. Her eyes fluttered shut as Fred leaned closer and pressed his lips to hers. She slid a hand to the back of his neck and up through his hair as she sighed contentedly.

"Goodnight," Fred whispered when he pulled away. He rested his forehead against hers and quickly kissed her nose before pulling away from her and backing away towards the boy's dormitory.

"Goodnight," Auden answered, grinning and heading for the other set of stairs. When she reached her dorm, she collapsed on her bed and curled under her covers. She fell asleep almost instantly, despite the fact that her stomach was still flipping at the thought that Fred Weasley was now her boyfriend.

* * *

**A/N: I decided on using **_**I'll Be**_** for the song that Auden and Fred dance to, and I also used a lyric in the title.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	22. Chapter 21: The Way You Kissed Me

Auden woke up the next morning to someone shaking her. She opened her eyes to see Hermione standing over her, grinning. "It's Christmas, wake up," she smiled.

Auden sat up and immediately looked over to her nightstand. She smiled at the picture of her and Fred sitting there. It was a sort of reminder that the night before hadn't been a dream. Next, she looked to the end of the bed and noticed the gifts from her friends and family. One bed over, Hermione was already tearing open her own gifts.

Excitedly, Auden began opening her own gifts. Her parents had sent her a new shirt and Harry gave her a brand new Gryffindor scarf and a pair of gloves. From Ron, she received a box of chocolate frogs and a bracelet made from string that Ron made himself. Auden laughed. She had been trying to teach him how to make them for months and this bracelet was actually very good. It was made with her favorite colors, blue, purple, and green. Next, Auden opened a gift from Hermione. It was a book on different kinds of magical animals. Ginny had given her a blanket made from the softest material Auden had ever felt. Mr. and Mr. Weasley had naturally given Auden a handmade sweater (green with a white 'A' on it), and a container of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

By now, only two presents were left. One was a book of pranks and jokes from George. The last gift was from her brother, Ben. Auden slowly pulled off the wrapping paper. It was a snow globe. Auden had always been awed by snow globes when she was younger. Auden stared at the one from Ben. Inside, was a castle that looked very much like Hogwarts. She shook the snow globe and raised it back up to her face. Snow was swirling around the castle and it looked completely magical. Auden wondered where Ben had gotten this.

"That's pretty," Hermione commented, gesturing towards the snow globe.

"Isn't it?" Auden asked, setting it on the nightstand, next to the picture of her and Fred. There was a pause and she glanced at Hermione. "So...what happened between you and Ron last night?"

Hermione chewed on her lip. "Well…he was acting funny…and it seemed like he was jealous of Viktor going to the ball with me."

Auden noticed the small smile that appeared on Hermione's face. "I see. Are you still angry with him?" she asked.

"I don't know," Hermione sighed. "I just think that if he was so jealous of Viktor, he should've asked me straight away before Viktor or anyone else could get the chance. I don't want to be anyone's last resort."

"No one does. But I think Ron feels bad for what happened last night. He didn't want to fight with you. He didn't mean to spoil your night. He was just upset that his night wasn't going all that well. And I think he _was_ jealous that you were there with Viktor. I think he realized that he'd actually rather be there with you."

"I don't know about that," Hermione laughed.

Auden shrugged. "It's just what I think." She gave Hermione one last smile as she climbed out of bed, dressed and headed down to the common room, where she immediately found Fred and George sitting in a corner discussing something in whispers. She walked over and slid her hands over Fred's eyes, grinning when he reached up to gently pry her hands off before turning around to look at her.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey yourself," he grinned back.

"Can I join you?"

A grin lit up Fred's face. "Of course," he said, gently pulling her onto his lap.

Auden sighed happily and rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh, and George, thanks for the prank book, by the way," she said with a smile.

"No problem…thanks for the stuff from Zonko's."

"Don't mention it. I didn't know what you already had, so I got a variety."

"I loved all of it. And you can never have too much Zonko's merchandise anyway, so it doesn't matter what I already have."

"Good to know," Auden giggled. Suddenly, she felt Fred's fingers against her neck. She looked down and saw him lightly tracing the hearts of the necklace he had given her. "I'm never taking this off, you know," she whispered in his ear. He smiled warmly at her.

"So, what are you guys inventing now?" Auden asked, leaning forward to look at the papers scattered on the table.

"How did you know we were inventing something?" asked George.

"Well, let's see," Auden smiled and began ticking off the reasons on her fingers. "You're sitting in a corner of the common room and you were whispering. Those are two immediate signs right there."

Fred smiled. "Alright, you caught us. We thought up the idea of Extendable Ears."

"They're designed to be able—," started George.

"To listen in-," continued Fred.

"On any private conversation," finished George.

"Impressive," said Auden. "Definitely a good idea."

"You think so?" Fred asked, beaming.

"Yes, I do." Auden reached up and brushed Fred's hair out of his eyes before resting against his shoulder again.

"Ah-hem," said a voice.

Auden turned her head. Hermione was standing behind her, smilng slightly with her hands on her hips.

"When exactly did this happen?" she asked, gesturing to Auden and Fred.

"Last night," Auden grinned. "You walked right by us in the entrance hall. But it's okay. You were upset. I understand."

"But still...you didn't care to tell me?"

Auden shrugged and laughed. "You were upset and already sleeping by the time I got back, and then this morning was Christmas…you know, gifts to open and other things to discuss." Her grin widened.

"Well, I'm glad it happened. It's about time."

Auden smiled and shook her head as Hermione walked away.

"Hey, George, do you mind if we take a break from this for a little while?" Fred asked. "I'm kind of in the mood for a snowball fight."

"Another one?" Auden asked, turning to look back at him.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Fred asked.

"Nothing," Auden giggled. And it was the truth. She was actually really excited about a snowball fight. It would be better than the one from the day before. At least now she and Fred were actually talking to each other.

"I think it sounds good," George said. "And there's Katie now. I'll ask her to join us."

They managed to get Ron and Harry to join them as well and they all made their way downstairs and out the front doors. Auden picked up a handful of snow and shaped it into a perfect snowball. Then, she flung it with all her strength at Ron, who ducked. The snowball hit Harry right in the face. "You're going to pay for that, Aud," he laughed as he chased her with a snowball of his own.

"Save me!" Auden laughed as she ran behind Fred.

They spent hours playing out in the snow before going in for Christmas dinner. Auden ate as much food as she could before making her way back to the common room with Fred. Somehow, he had gotten his hands on some mistletoe, and he chased her around the room with it before he finally caught up to her. He grabbed her around the waist as she spun around to face him and when she was looking up at him, he smirked and dangled the mistletoe above her head.

Auden giggled and leaned up to kiss him, lightly resting one of her hands on his cheek as he tightened his grip around her waist. She felt the mistletoe brush her arm as Fred dropped it and wrapped his newly freed arm around her waist as he deepened the kiss, causing Auden's stomach to flip.

"Oi, you are aware that there eleven year olds around, aren't you?" George's voice called.

Fred immediately broke the kiss and looked over his shoulder at his twin. "We're well aware, thank you," he called back as Auden giggled and buried her head in his chest.

"Then get a room," George retaliated as Katie and Lee both snorted from beside him.

Fred shook his head before turning back to Auden. He gave her another quick kiss before pulling away and leading her towards the table where George was sitting with Lee and Katie.

"So," Auden said as they sat down, "I never got to ask you...what do you think the clue in Harry's egg was all about?"

"No idea," Fred muttered. "All I know is that the screech that came out of it when he opened it for us that night actually makes me glad I'm not a champion. It was horrible."

"Agreed," George said, nodding his head.

"I'm worried for him," Auden confessed, glancing towards Harry, who was sitting on the couch, actually attempting to complete some homework. Harry wasn't supposed to be in this tournament at all. Dumbledore's reasoning for the age limit was obvious. These tasks were dangerous and it wasn't as if Harry were only a few months under the limit-he was a few _years_ under.

"He'll be fine, Aud. Did you see the way he fought his dragon last month?" Fred said. "He was brilliant. And he actually does really well in the face of danger."

"But he still has to figure out the clue and then he-"

"Aud," Fred whispered, kissing her cheek, "don't worry, okay? Dumbledore wouldn't let him do it if he seriously thought Harry would get hurt."

"But the rules say he has to compete and other people have _died_, Fred. People who were seventeen."

"Rules or no rules, if Dumbledore seriously thought Harry's safety was in jeopardy, he wouldn't let him do it," Fred argued. "I actually think Harry has a shot at winning." He paused. "But I suppose you think it'll be Cedric?"

"No, I really don't know who could win. It could be anyone."

"But is Cedric who you _want_ to win?" Fred asked.

"Fred," Auden said warningly, shooting him a look. "Don't start this again. It's why we fought in the first place. I support both Cedric and Harry wholeheartedly. It's just that...Cedric _is_ older and more experienced. I'm worried about him as well, but Harry...he's my age and I know for a fact that I wouldn't be prepared in the least to complete these tasks. And Cedric entered the tournament completely on his own accord. Harry didn't. Someone wanted to put him in danger and I don't like it."

"Neither do I, if I'm honest," Fred admitted, "but you do have to admit that Harry is pretty good when it comes to dangerous tasks and worming his way out of tricky situations."

"You're right," Auden sighed. "But I still worry."

Fred half-smiled and kissed her cheek before giving her hand a squeeze.

* * *

The day of the second task came quickly. It took place at the end of February, and this time, the champions had to rescue something they would miss most from the bottom of the lake. Harry had figured out the riddle and Ron and Hermione had spent the entire night with him in the library trying to help him find a way to hold his breath for one whole hour. Auden had expected them to have been finished by now, but her friends were nowhere to be seen.

"I haven't seen Ron or Hermione all morning, you know," Auden said worriedly to Fred as they walked to the lake together.

"They're probably already in the stands," Fred reassured her. He rubbed his thumb along hers comfortingly, but it only helped a little.

Auden took a deep breath as she, Fred, George and Katie climbed into a boat together. The boat took them to the stands, where Auden quickly scanned the crowd. Harry was lining up with the other champions, but she couldn't see Ron and Hermione anywhere. "They aren't here, Fred," she told him. "They should be if Harry is. And I want to ask them what they figured out last night."

"The stands are crowded," Fred said as they fought their way to a spot in the front. "You probably just missed them. It's impossible to find anyone in this crowd."

Auden let out a puff of air and chewed her lip as Dumbledore briefly began describing the task, saying that something was taken from the champions the night before and that now needed to rescue it within the next hour. Then, the whistle blew. All four champions immediately jumped into the cold, dark water.

After about twenty minutes of the hour long time limit had passed, Fleur emerged from the lake empty handed.

"What's happening?" Auden whispered to Neville, who was standing slightly in front of her. Why didn't Fleur have anything with her?

"She had to forfeit. I guess she couldn't reach what she needed to save," answered Neville. "It must be really scary down there, with the plants, and the grindylows. I wonder if they'll run into the giant squid!"

Auden paled slightly. That had done nothing to calm her nerves. She had no idea what Harry had ended up using to help him stay underwater for an hour. What if it didn't work? Why couldn't she find Ron and Hermione to ask them?

"Stop checking your watch," Fred said, slipping his arm around Auden's waist and pulling her to him. It had been nearly an hour by now and Fleur was still the only champion that had come above water, and even then it was only because she had felt the need to forfeit.

"I can't help it," Auden whispered.

"They'll be okay," Fred reassured her.

"You don't sound as sure anymore," Auden observed, looking at him knowingly. "You've been so calm about this up until now."

"I'm still calm and I'm still completely sure they'll all be fine," Fred said, but his weak smile said otherwise.

About a minute later, Cedric's head popped out from the water. He was carrying Cho Chang, who was wiping water from her eyes.

"They took _people_?" Katie gasped. "I thought that _objects _were going to be taken!"

Auden paled worse than ever. She was glad that Cedric was okay, but everything was making sense now. Krum had taken Hermione to the Yule Ball and Ron was Harry's best friend. Hermione and Ron were the people Krum and Harry would miss most. That was the reason why Auden hadn't been able to find them. They were being held captive at the bottom of the lake. She also couldn't help but think that if she and Cedric had still been dating, she would've most likely been down there as well.

Fred seemed to be thinking along the same lines. His mouth was opening and closing like a fish and he was pale. "Merlin," he managed to whisper. "Ron...my little brother..."

"Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to him, would he?" Auden asked, throwing what Fred had said months previously back to him.

Fred turned towards her and blinked. "That could have been you," he whispered, reaching out and cupping her face in his hands as he ignored her comment.

"I know," she whispered, reaching up and placing a hand over his as her expression softened. "But it's not."

Before Fred could answer, Krum splashed to the lake's surface, carrying Hermione.

"I hope Harry's alright," Auden said. "What if he doesn't make it in time?"

Fred pulled Auden into a tight hug and rubbed her back. "As long as he makes it, that's all that matters. Who cares about the time limit anymore?"

About ten minutes after the hour was up, Harry splashed to the top of the water, coughing, and carrying two people: Ron, and a young girl. "Who's she?" Auden asked as she sighed with utter relief. Harry and Ron were both okay. Harry had done it. He had gone over the time limit, but as Fred has said, who cared anymore?

Her question about the young blonde girl was answered when Fleur raced over to them and helped bring the girl to safety. It must have been her sister. Auden could now see how much the two girls looked alike.

Dumbledore was now awarding the points for the task. Fleur obviously came in last, but when Dumbledore announced third place, he didn't announce Harry, he announced Krum. Then, Dumbledore said that the judges had decided to award Harry second place, for showing outstanding moral fiber by rescuing two people.

"Well done, moral fiber," Fred joked when Harry, Hermione, and Ron finally caught up with them later.

"How did you figure out how to stay underwater for an hour?" Auden asked Harry. "I was worried sick that you hadn't actually found an answer!"

"Dobby gave me some this morning," Harry replied. "That elf can really be a genius sometimes."

"Maybe you should rethink how you told him to never save your life again," Auden smiled.

"Yeah, maybe I should," Harry shrugged. "Maybe buy him some mismatched socks."

After the second task ended, there were still four more months until the third task. During this time, Harry seemed anxious but excited. Everyone in Gryffindor was convinced that he could win this tournament and it would be exciting to have someone from Gryffindor win.

Auden still saw Cedric, but barely. When she did see him in the Great Hall or in the hallways, they smiled at each other and waved, but Auden was usually with Fred and Cedric was usually with Cho. Auden liked that there were no hard feelings between them. Some people had been a little mean about Auden quickly moving from Cedric to Fred, especially the Slytherins, but they had backed off after a week or two and everything was going pretty well by now.

One night, in late May, Auden was studying for the upcoming exams in the common room. There was now only a month until the third task and a little less than a month until exams. Auden was sitting on the couch next to Fred, who was also studying. Or at least, attempting to.

"I'm getting distracted," he complained after a few minutes of silence.

"By what?" Auden asked, turning a page of her Charms book.

"By you, of course," Fred said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her on the cheek.

Auden laughed. "You have to get your studying done, though."

"How about every time I answer a question on this review sheet, I get a kiss?" Fred suggested.

Auden smiled and sighed. "If that motivates you…"

"Oh, it does," he said.

"Well, then get to work," she pointed to his paper and went back to flipping through her book.

"Alright, it's time for my reward now," Fred said a few minutes later.

Auden pulled his paper towards her to look at what he had written. "Okay," she looked up at him and smiled.

Fred leaned in closer and when they were an inch apart, they heard someone clear their throat. Auden sighed and looked up. Harry was standing there.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but Ron and Hermione are going to help me practice some spells for the third task and I was wondering if you wanted to help as well."

"Of course I'll help you," Auden told him. "I'm glad you asked. I felt bad about not helping you last time."

"You were helping me and George with inventions," Fred said. "Another worthy cause." He grinned at her as he leaned back into the couch cushions.

"Do you mind if I go?" Auden asked him.

"No, go ahead. Although…don't blame me if I can't get my review sheet done. It's your fault that you're my motivation and you're leaving," Fred smiled.

Auden gave him a kiss on the cheek. "There, that's your motivation for now."

"That's it? That's all I get until you come back?" Fred asked.

Auden didn't answer. She just smiled as she walked towards the portrait hole with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

They reached an empty classroom where they helped Harry learn and practice new spells until he could perform them perfectly.

"I think you're ready, Harry," Hermione said, about five hours later.

"So do I," Auden beamed at him. "How do you feel?"

"More confident than I felt about the other tasks, to be honest," Harry answered.

"Good, that makes me feel better," Auden replied as they put everything in the room back in order and headed for the door.

"You better win this thing, after all those Stunning practices," Ron said. "My head still hurts from falling on the ground."

"Well, now it's going to hurt more," Auden said, hitting him upside the head. "You're the one who missed the pillows when you fell."

Hermione laughed. "That's very true."

It was close to midnight by the time they returned to the common room. As they entered the room, they heard a noise. "What was that?" Hermione whispered as they all froze. The noise came again. It wasn't loud, but it was like a small whistling sound.

Suddenly, Auden began to laugh. She walked over to the couch. "It's just Fred. He fell asleep on the couch."

"We'll just leave you to wake him up then," Ron laughed as he, Harry, and Hermione walked up to their dorms.

Auden turned back to Fred. She walked around the couch and sat down on the edge. She didn't wake Fred up right away. Instead, she reached over and slowly brushed his hair out of his eyes. As she was playing with his hair, Fred opened his eyes. "Hey," he whispered sleepily.

"Hey," she whispered back.

"What time is it?" Fred mumbled as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Midnight," Auden answered. "Did you finish your review sheet?"

"Yes…and you sound like my mother by the way," Fred grinned.

"Well, I only said that because we had a deal, remember? But, if you're going to be like that then forget it," Auden said, pretending to be annoyed. She smiled and turned her head the other way as she crossed her arms.

"Aw, come on," Fred said, pulling her closer.

"No," Auden said, still looking the other way and trying to hide her smile.

"Well then, you leave me no choice…"

Knowing what was coming, Auden tried to run, but Fred jumped up, grabbed her waist, pulled her back to the couch, and began to tickle her. Auden was almost screaming with laughter, but she was trying to keep it down so she wouldn't wake anyone up. "Stop, stop," she said, out of breath a few minutes later.

Fred stopped tickling her and slid to the other end of the couch by Auden's feet. She sat up and tried to catch her breath. Then, she picked up a pillow from the couch and threw it at Fred's head. "Jerk…you know how ticklish I am," she smiled.

"I know, that's why I do it," he shrugged.

Auden slid down the couch until she was sitting right next to him. She lifted up his arm and put it around her before snuggling into his chest. "I forgive you," she said, looking up at him and grinning.

"Good," Fred answered as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Was that worth doing your review sheet?" Auden asked, smirking.

"Most definitely," Fred laughed, leaning down to kiss her again, "but I think it's time for bed now. You look exhausted."

"I am, but I don't want to go to bed. I'd rather stay here with you."

"And I'd _love _to stay here with you. You know that," Fred told her.

"I do know that," Auden answered as she stood up and held out her hand to Fred. He grabbed it and stood up too. "But you're right," she continued. "I am exhausted."

Fred smiled down at her. "I figured." He reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her face before leaning down and giving her another kiss. "How was practicing with Harry? Is he ready?"

"I think he is," Auden whispered, rubbing her eyes as they walked towards the stairs leading to the dorms. "He seems pretty confident this time around as well. I think he has a good shot at winning, Fred."

"Good," Fred whispered, smiling at her. He nudged her towards the stairs to her dorm. "Now go get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

Auden returned the smile and nodded before darting up the stairs, collapsing onto her bed and falling asleep almost immediately.

* * *

**A/N: I hope everyone liked the chapter. I'm thinking of ending this story after two more chapters, when Auden is done with her fourth year and then making a sequel of her year 5 and on. I originally planned for this to be one story, but it turned out to be longer than I expected so I'm probably just going to split it up. :) **

**Also, the song that I got the title from is ****_Today Was a Fairytale_**** by Taylor Swift.**


	23. Chapter 22: I Will Never Be With You

Over the next month, everyone was busy studying for their exams, while the four champions prepared for the final task. Auden didn't have a lot of time to spend with Fred anymore to do what they wanted, especially on their own. They still managed to appear inseparable during the time they could be together. They ate meals together, walked each other to classes, and spent their nights in the common room. Auden was usually studying, and would try to get Fred to study too, but he was more interested in coming up with new inventions with George.

Finally, the last day of exams and the day of the third task arrived. Auden was so relieved that exams were over and it was soon going to be summer that she was in a great mood that day. In the morning, after her last exam, she ran into Cedric and his father outside the front doors. Families were allowed to visit today. Auden had seen Bill and Mrs. Weasley that morning because they had arrived to support Harry.

"Hi Cedric, Mr. Diggory," Auden said with a smile.

"Auden!" Cedric said, returning the smile. Mr. Diggory smiled at Auden as well but Auden could tell it was forced.

"Hello, Auden. So, you and Ced are still friends, I see."

"Oh yes," Auden told him. "Of course we are."

"I see," he answered.

"How are you?" Cedric asked her.

"I'm great. Glad to be done with exams. But how are you? You must be nervous."

"Yeah, a bit," Cedric half smiled.

"Ah, but Ced will do wonderful," his dad exclaimed proudly. "He beat Harry Potter at Quidditch once. If he can do that, he can beat him in a maze!"

Auden just stared at him, unsure of what to say. She felt uncomfortable. She obviously knew all about that Quidditch match. She had been there. And Mr. Diggory had already brought it up before the World Cup the summer before. Had he forgotten or was he just rubbing it in her face again? She also wanted to defend Harry because he would always be one of her close friends, but she didn't want it to sound as if she didn't think Cedric could win the tournament or as if she wanted him to lose. It was what she had been trying to tell everyone all year. She would be happy if either Cedric or Harry won. She cared for both of them and they both went to Hogwarts.

"Dad, Auden's on the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Cedric mumbled. "You know this."

"Oh, you were?" Mr. Diggory pretended to be surprised. "I must have forgotten. Well, anyway, it seems as if the Gryffindor team doesn't pick very good players. They just let anyone on, do they?" He looked down at Auden and raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" she narrowed her eyes at him. What was that supposed to mean? How would he know?

"Your friend Potter must have gotten on the team somehow and if he's falling off his broom left and right, I'm not so sure it was for his talent!"

"Dad, will you please _stop it_," Cedric said with a sigh.

"And if I'm being honest," Mr. Diggory rambled on, looking at Auden again, "from the way Ced talked about _you_, I thought you would be something really special. When I heard that you and Cedric were a couple, I wasn't going to stop it, but I did have a talk with him. I told him that he shouldn't have such low expectations when there were so many other choices out there."

"Dad!" cried Cedric, growing redder in the face every second. "Auden _is_ special."

Auden blinked in surprise. She was speechless. She hadn't done a single thing to Mr. Diggory. Ever. And yet, here he was, practically verbally attacking her.

"You're close with the Weasleys, aren't you?" he asked. "Arthur Weasley's a nice guy and I like him, I really do, but he's been obsessed with Muggles for as long as I can remember."

"What does this have to do with me?" Auden asked.

"Don't think I didn't hear about what happened after you and Ced broke up. You ran right to Fred Weasley in a matter of seconds. How do I know you weren't dating him all along?"

Now Auden was mad. How dare he accuse her of something like that. "I would never do that to anyone!" she exclaimed. "I don't know what Cedric told you, but I cared for him very much. I still do, in fact. I wasn't cheating on anyone. We just weren't right for each other and it was something I thought we were both in agreement on." Mr. Diggory said nothing. He just stood there, glaring at Auden, who turned to Cedric. "Cedric, can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Yeah," he muttered, following her a few feet away.

"Is this why you broke up with me?" she asked, glaring at him. "Because of your dad?"

"No!" cried Cedric. "Well, yes maybe. He was getting on my back about it, and he kept inviting Cho over during the summer. I didn't like it at first, trust me, but then I started having real feelings for her. It's not like you're devastated about it. You have Fred."

"That's not the point! I'm just trying to figure out if you lied to me or not," Auden retaliated.

"Lied to you?" asked Cedric. "No, I would never lie to you."

"You never told me your dad was inviting Cho over for dinner, or that he didn't like me. You never told me that he was telling you I wasn't right for you. You told me at the Yule Ball that you had feelings for her, but you didn't yet, did you?"

"No, but...I didn't want to upset you," Cedric told her. "Listen, you're an amazing girl. I don't agree with a word my father said about you. You're funny and smart and you're one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I'm never going to forget you."

Auden looked at him as she thought over what he said. "I believe you," she said. "I'm sorry things didn't work out for us in the end, but maybe it was for the better, right? Everyone's happy now, and we can still be friends, no matter what your father says."

Cedric nodded. "Of course."

Auden gave him a hug, not caring that his father was looking angry. "Good luck tonight."

"Thank you," Cedric whispered, returning the hug.

Even though she didn't hold anything against Cedric, Auden was still angry about what his father had said to her by the time she met up with Fred that afternoon to go watch the task.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked her.

Just then, Auden spotted Amos Diggory in the stands. "He's what's wrong," she said, pointing.

"Cedric's dad? Why, what happened?" Fred asked.

"I ran into him and Cedric today and Mr. Diggory told me he basically told Cedric that I wasn't good enough for him and he was glad that we broke up. Then, he accused me of cheating on Cedric with you."

"What a jerk," Fred muttered. "Good thing I wasn't there. I would have hexed his head right off of his neck."

"Cedric and I talked about it, too. He doesn't agree with his father about any of it. I believe him, but his dad was just...frustrating. He's the reason Cedric wanted to break up with me."

"That was actually a good thing on his part, though," Fred said. "Because then you would have never ended up with me."

Auden grinned up at him. "True, very true," she laughed. "I guess he did one thing right." She leaned up and gave Fred a kiss on the cheek.

Auden and Fred found seats next to George, Katie, Ron, and Hermione. Below them, the champions were gathering around the entrance to the maze. When Dumbledore blew the whistle, they were off. Now, they just had to wait.

* * *

Harry was running as fast as he could. He knew he was headed in the right direction, because he had learned a spell during his practices that made his wand point north. This made it easier to figure out where to go in the maze. Harry turned a corner, and then he saw it: the Triwizard Cup. He was going to win! Then, out of nowhere, Cedric slammed into Harry. They were both running, pushing each other out of the way, trying to get to the cup. Suddenly, Cedric fell. Vines and shrub roots were grabbing at him, trying to drag him under the bushes. Harry looked towards the cup. He could grab it and win. Then, he looked at Cedric. They had become friends during the tournament, and he was Auden's ex boyfriend. He was a good guy. Harry knew what he had to do. "Reducto!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the vines. They let go of Cedric and he stood up shakily.

"For a minute there I thought you were going to let it get me," Cedric said.

"For a minute, so did I," Harry answered.

There was a silence.

"Fred and Auden seem to be doing great," Cedric said.

Harry looked at him, confused. "I don't know if this is the best time to discuss-,"

"No, listen," Cedric interrupted. He took a breath. "I've been dating Cho since the beginning of January and I love her, but the thing is…I never really stopped loving Auden."

Harry just stared. They were standing in a maze of giant shrubs, seconds from the end, and Cedric Diggory was telling him that he had never gotten over one of his best friends. It would be comical if it wasn't so serious.

"My father didn't think she was the best for me, and he kept trying to get me to date Cho, and eventually I did start to kind of like her," Cedric continued. "Anyway, I couldn't take it anymore; I had to break up with Auden to keep my father happy even though I didn't want to. I also saw that Auden and Fred really liked each other, so I did what I needed to do. I thought I would be over Auden by now, but I'm not. I couldn't tell her about this, because she'd feel guilty and I didn't want that. Things are better this way."

"Why are you telling me, then?" Harry asked.

"Because you're one of her best friends...and, I don't know, maybe I just needed to tell _someone_." Cedric shrugged.

"Well I know for a fact that she loved you," Harry said, "and she still does care about you very much, but," he shrugged, "you're right. She and Fred..."

"Yeah," Cedric nodded. "It's okay. I've been dealing with it. I don't want you to think that I'm using Cho or anything. Like I said, I do have feelings for her. They just don't really equal the feelings I have for Auden." He hesitated. "Cho told me you asked her to the Yule Ball. I'm sorry I stole her from you."

Harry shrugged and looked away. "Don't worry about it."

Both boys were silent for a moment before looking towards the cup. "Take it," Cedric said.

"No, let's take it at the same time. Either way, Hogwarts wins," Harry answered. "Alright then…one, two, three!" shouted Cedric as they both dived towards the cup.

* * *

"Someone's back!" Auden shouted as she saw two figures appear at the bottom of the stands.

"Who is it?" Fred asked, craning his neck. "Harry or Cedric?" They were the only two left in the maze as Fleur and Krum had forfeited earlier.

"I can't see but it looks like Harry…I think," Auden answered.

"Let's go get a better look," Fred shouted over the cheers of the crowd. Auden grabbed Fred's hand as they made their way towards the small crowd of teachers huddled around the champions. As they got there, Auden noticed the crowd getting silent. Some people were gasping in shock.

Finally, Auden squeezed around Professor McGonagall and gasped, dropping Fred's hand and taking another step forward. Harry was there, he was alive, and perfectly well, but Cedric wasn't. Harry was crouching over Cedric's body with Dumbledore next to him. Cedric's eyes were wide and empty.

"He's back, he's back. Voldemort…he's back," Harry was crying. Then, his eyes found Auden's. "Auden," he whispered just loud enough for only her to hear.

"Yes?" she managed to squeak out. She could barely breathe. She was still trying to process the fact that Cedric was lying there unmoving. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be.

"Cedric told me to tell you…"

"Tell me what?" Auden whispered.

"He wanted me to tell you that he loves you."

"He what?" Auden managed to choke out. "No, there's no way." Before Harry could say anything else, he was dragged away by Professor Moody, leaving Auden feeling more confused than ever. She couldn't think straight and she could hardly breathe. Cedric was dead. He wasn't coming back. How could that have happened? He didn't deserve it. And he still had feelings for her? She had had no idea he still felt that way. Tears were coming to her eyes and she felt a hand take hers. She looked up and saw Fred standing next to her, concern in his eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," she answered, but then the tears came and they wouldn't stop. She couldn't help herself. She buried her head in Fred's chest and he hugged her tightly. After a moment, he picked her up and Auden rested her head on his shoulder as she tried to stop crying. She could hear Mr. Diggory yelling and crying now and it was heartbreaking. It actually made her cry harder. Even though he had been a jerk to her, he had lost his son and he didn't deserve that. No one did.

Fred carried her into the castle and to the common room. When they got there, he sat down with Auden sitting sideways in his lap. He cradled her to him and comfortingly kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry," Auden finally said, sniffling and looking up at him. She was such a mess and it was a bit embarrassing, if she was honest with herself. She couldn't help it though. She was devastated.

"What for?" Fred asked, blinking a few times in shock.

"For being such a mess like this," Auden whispered.

"Auden, I'd be shocked if you weren't crying," Fred told her. "You dated him, and all of a sudden you find out he's gone, and still had feelings for you." Fred half smiled. "I had no idea. He never said anything," Auden said.

"Well, like Harry said, he wanted you to be happy."

"And that's with you. I guess he figured it out like Angelina did." Auden was twisting her ring around her finger and staring intently at it as she did so. "I thought he really loved Cho, though. He always seemed so happy with her."

"It's possible to like two people at once, you know. And if he knew you would be happy with me, he didn't want to get in the way of it. He's just...he's an all around nice guy," Fred sighed. "Right to the end."

Auden's throat constricted again and she buried her head in Fred's shirt as a new wave of sobs hit her. "I just can't believe he's gone," she whispered. "And You-Know-Who...he just killed Cedric because he was there. And he's back, which means this is going to happen again. A lot."

"I don't think we can afford to focus on that now, though," Fred told her, pressing his lips to her forehead. "If You-Know-Who's back, we're going to have to fight him with everything we have."

"True," Auden sighed. "And I know that, but it's so hard. Like you said, Cedric was a nice guy. He was so good to me and now I feel terrible."

"Hey, listen," Fred gently took her chin and turned her face up to his. "Don't feel bad. None of this is your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. You did have feelings for him at one point, and when you didn't anymore, you got out instead of stringing him along. That's a good thing. And he wouldn't want you to feel a single bit of guilt, so I expect that's why he didn't tell you he still liked you."

Auden smiled a watery smile. "I know, and I'll be fine. I just need some time to let everything sink in and time to get used to it I guess."

Fred smiled back at her before pulling her to him again. "I'll be there for you the whole way. You know that, right?"

"I do," she whispered, smiling at him. "And thank you. For everything. She rested her head back on Fred's chest and he began playing with her hair. Before Auden knew it, she had fallen asleep.

* * *

** A/N: I hope everyone likes it and the song that influenced the title is You're Beautiful by James Blunt. Oh, and just a reminder that the next chapter is probably going to be the last one for this story and then I'm going to make a sequel as soon as I can think of a title and write the first chapter. :)**


	24. Chapter 23: Recovering

Auden packed the last of her things into her trunk and closed the lid. Another year at Hogwarts had come to an end. This time, instead of feeling excited at the prospect of the summer vacation, Auden was worried and scared. She dreaded the future. Cedric was gone for good, and Voldemort was back, when it should be the other way around.

She missed Cedric terribly to say the least. Even though things had been slightly awkward between them after the breakup, things weren't so bad that Auden didn't have any faith in a continued friendship between them. But now everything was different.

She hadn't discussed Cedric with Harry that much. It was kind of a mutual understanding between the two of them that neither one of them wanted to talk about it. Auden could only imagine what it must have been like for him, watching the whole thing happen. The only thing Harry had really told her was what Cedric had said to him and then a brief description of what happened in the graveyard. And that was all Auden needed to hear, really.

"Auden, are you ready?" Hermione asked gently from the doorway.

"Yes, I am," Auden said quietly as she turned away from her trunk. The trunks would be carried down to the trains later on. Now, though, the students had been instructed to gather in the Great Hall before they left. Dumbledore had wanted to make a speech to the whole school. _Most likely about Cedric,_ Auden thought. She sighed. Just what she needed, a reminder that he was dead. Ever since the day Cedric had died, she had known she would always want to remember him, but at the same time, that meant allowing herself to dwell on the fact that he was dead, even for the tiniest of seconds, and she wasn't ready for that. At least not yet.

Auden followed Hermione through the door and down the stairs. Fred was waiting for her along with George, Harry, and Ron. Fred was staring at her sadly as she walked towards him and he took her hand as she reached him.

"How are you today?" Fred asked, rubbing her cheek with his free hand.

"Better," Auden replied, giving him a shrug and a half smile. It was the truth. She _was_ feeling better every day, mostly due to Fred. He rarely left her side and was always there with open arms if she needed a hug. If she wanted to talk, he listened. If she didn't, he didn't push her. If she wanted to cry, he let her. On the night Cedric had died, he had sat with her all night in the common room. He had been so understanding about everything that had happened and it was helping Auden to recover.

Fred took Auden's hand and the group walked to the Great Hall together. They were talking and joking like old times, but now it was different than it used to be. They were mourning the loss of a fellow student and friend. Besides that, the understanding that Voldemort had returned seemed to be weighing on all of them.

When they reached the Great Hall, Auden noticed it looked different now than it usually did. Instead of four tables, there were rows and rows of benches all facing the front of the room. It was also decorated in black instead of the usual house colors. Auden, Fred, George, Hermione, Harry, and Ron all found seats in the middle of the room and waited until the rest of the school had filed in and sat down. Finally, Dumbledore stood up and began to speak.

"Today we acknowledge a really terrible loss," he began. "Cedric Diggory was, as you all know, exceptionally hard working, infinitely fair-minded, and most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend. Therefore, I feel you have the right to know exactly how he died. You see, Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

At these words, Auden closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again and listening to Dumbledore continue. She felt Fred's hand take hers, and she squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this," Dumbledore was saying. "But not to do so I feel would be an insult to his memory. Now the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me, and, reminds us, that though we may come from different countries and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one. In light of the recent events, the bonds of friendship made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that, and Cedric Diggory will not have died in vain. You remember that, and we'll celebrate a boy who was kind, and honest, and brave, and true. Right to the very end."

Auden put her head on Fred's shoulder and sighed. Dumbledore was now announcing that it was time to head to the train station and board the Hogwarts Express and all the students were moving towards the doors at once, but Auden stayed where she was along with Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They waited in silence until the great hall was nearly empty before standing up and walking towards the carriages together. Auden and Fred continued to hold hands the entire way.

"You okay?" Fred asked after a silence.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Auden nodded. They had reached the carriages now and Fred helped Auden climb into one. George and Katie were right behind them and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were climbing into the carriage next to theirs.

"You know, Aud, I think this is going to be a great summer," Fred said, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head.

"Why's that?" Auden asked him, looking up in confusion.

Fred looked at George and smirked.

"Uh-oh, I know that look," Auden said. Then she turned to Katie. "It means they have some idea…usually an idea that gets us all in trouble."

"Come on now," Fred reached over and tugged at the end of Auden's hair. "That's not true…well maybe a little but you didn't even hear what I had to say."

"Okay, go ahead, I'm listening," Auden raised her eyebrows at him.

"Well, George and I have finished creating two very important projects. Our Extendable Ears and Skiving Snackboxes are finished and ready to go."

"And your point is…?" Auden asked.

"Well, we can use them this summer," Fred said. "The extendable ears especially to listen in on conversations we aren't allowed to hear. There's bound to be a ton of them now that You-Know-Who's back."

"Also, just because You-Know-Who's back doesn't mean we have to stop pranking people," George added. "In fact, it's all the more reason to. Everyone could use a laugh now."

"You two are crazy, but you make a good point," Auden said, shrugging.

"We aren't finished," started George.

"In case you've forgotten," Fred said.

"We now know how to Apparate," George continued.

"And since you're underage Aud," Fred tapped her nose with his finger.

"You can't Apparate yet," George smiled.

"Thank you both so very much for pointing that out," Auden said sarcastically. "I appreciate it." She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"That wasn't our point," George said. "Our point was…"

"That we can take you along with us," Fred finished with a grin.

"Would you really do that?" Auden asked, sitting up excitedly. She had always wanted to try it, but had never gotten the opportunity.

"Of course," Fred said. "It's one of the advantages of dating an extremely handsome, funny prankster with the ability to Apparate."

"Hmm, I only agree with the prankster bit," Auden joked. "I'm kidding, I agree with all of it," she added as Fred pretended to pout.

When they reached the train station, Auden, Fred, George and Katie found a compartment with the others and they started a game of exploding snap. They even convinced Hermione to put her book down and join them.

"I win, again!" Auden cheered after the fifth game.

"How is it you always do that, Aud?" George asked, scratching his head.

Auden shrugged. "It's a secret."

"I give up," Hermione said. "I always lose. I'd much rather go back to my book."

"Of course you would," Ron rolled his eyes jokingly. "Because you're Hermione, and that's what you do."

All too soon, the train was pulling into King's Cross Station. Ron, Hermione and Katie filtered out of the compartment first, and Auden paused at the door while the twins packed away their Exploding Snap cards.

"Are you coming, Fred?" Auden asked.

"Yeah, I'm coming," he answered, grabbing the handle of his trunk.

"Fred, George, wait a moment," Harry said from the far side of the compartment.

The twins turned as Harry reached into his trunk and pulled out the prize money from the tournament.

"Take it," he said, tossing the sack of money at George.

"What?" asked Fred as George quickly tossed the money back.

"Take it," Harry repeated firmly, handing the money back to George. "I don't want it."

"You're mental!" George said.

"No, I'm not," Harry replied. "You take it and get inventing. It's for the joke shop."

"He _is_ mental," Fred whispered, glancing between George and Auden, who was beaming. She knew Harry truly didn't want the money and now Fred and George would finally be able to start working on their dream again after the setback from a year ago.

"Listen," Harry began, "if you don't take it, I'm throwing it down the drain. I don't want it and I don't need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long."

"Harry," George said, weighing the bag of money in his hands, "there's, what, a thousand Galleons in here?"

"Yeah," Harry grinned. "Think of how many Canary Creams that is." He paused. "Just don't tell your mum where you got it. Although, she might not be so keen on you joining the Ministry now, come to think of it."

"Harry…" began Fred.

"Take it," Harry insisted, pulling out his wand, "or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now. Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some new dress robes and say they're from you."

With that, he quickly made his way out of the compartment before the twins could say another word. Auden squeezed his shoulder as he passed her and he gave her a fleeting smile.

When he was gone, Auden turned back to the twins, who were just staring at each other at a loss for words.

"I can't believe he just did that," George said, his voice filled with awe. "He won this." He looked down at the bag of money.

Auden smiled. "He honestly doesn't want it, though. Couldn't you tell? Besides, it's just not him to keep it when there's another very good use for all of it." She paused. "I also suppose he doesn't feel right keeping it, since he technically didn't win the tournament himself. He tied with Cedric." She looked down as she duge her toe into the ground.

Fred looked up at her and smiled softly before crossing the compartment and kissing her temple. "Come on," he said, throwing an arm around her and leading her off the train with George at their heels. As soon as they reached the platform, they noticed the Weasleys, Auden's parents, Hermione and Harry right away. Mrs. Weasley wasted no time in immediately pulling Auden into a hug.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Auden said, her voice muffled from being squished into Mrs. Weasley's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so happy!" she cried. "You and Fred! I always knew you would date one of my boys, although I did always think it would be Ron…" She finally let go of Auden and looked at her happily. "Good luck keeping him in line, though," she finally said. "Even I have difficulty and I'm his mother!" She smiled to show Auden that she had been joking.

"Keep him in line?" Mrs. Parker asked, hugging her daughter. "She'll be stepping out of line right along with him!"

"Not always!" Auden exclaimed.

"You never give us any credit," Fred said, smiling. "George, Auden and I are perfect angels."

"Perfect angels, my eye," Ron mumbled, earning a laugh from Auden and looks from Fred and George.

A moment later, Harry's aunt and uncle appeared to take him home. They stood a good distance away, sending the large group strange looks.

"Think they're remembering the fireplace and Dudley incidents right now?" Auden asked Fred.

"I don't think they ever forgot," Fred chuckled.

Auden laughed. "Probably not. I wish Dudley had come here with them. It probably sounds horrible for me to say this, but I'd like to see if you could beat your previous record. A five foot long tongue would've been so much more impressive than a four foot one."

Fred beamed at her. "I don't think that's horrible and I don't think Harry would either."

"My mother would, though, so don't tell her," Auden said.

Fred smiled and pretended to zip his lips. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"We'll be seeing you this summer, Harry," Mrs. Weasley was telling Harry now as she hugged him. "Although, probably not at the Burrow."

"Why not?" asked Fred.

"Not now," Mr. Weasley answered. "We'll tell you when we get home."

Auden gave Harry a hug of her own. "I'll see you soon," she told him. "Have fun with your giant tomato-y walrus of an uncle and your long tongued cousin."

For the first time since the third task, Harry smiled a genuine smile. "I will," he answered.

"Yeah, say hi to Dudders for us, will you?" Fred said.

Harry nodded and smiled wider. "He'll love to hear from you."

Harry began to walk in one direction with his family while the Weasleys and the Parkers walked in the opposite direction. Fred put his arm around Auden. She put her arm around him and they followed everyone else to the awaiting Ministry car set up to take them back home. As they reached the car, Auden smiled up at Fred before glancing at his bag and noticing something familiar sticking out of one of the pockets. It was a piece of paper with crayon markings on it. "Fred…" she began.

"What?" he asked. He followed her gaze to his bag. "Oh, I, um…that…"

Auden reached over with the arm not around Fred and pulled the paper out. It was the drawing from the tree house. The drawing she had created when she was six years old. Auden stopped walking and stared at the paper and then shifted her gaze to Fred's blue eyes. She looked at him questioningly, not saying a word, just silently holding the paper.

"I took it from the tree house," Fred explained in a whisper. "The night when we fell asleep up there."

"And you've kept it with you ever since?" Auden asked.

Fred nodded his head.

"Why?" Auden wrinkled her nose held the drawing up. "It's a terrible drawing. I was only six when I made it."

"I kept it because," Fred stuck his hands in his pockets and looked down, "you made it."

"That's it?" Auden asked.

Fred looked up. "Yeah…it reminded me how much I valued your friendship and how I wouldn't trade it for the world. You may by my girlfriend, but most importantly, you're my best friend. You always have been and you always will be."

Auden smiled and handed the drawing back to him. "If you'd like, I can autograph it when we get home," she joked.

"Oh, would you?" Fred asked in mock awe as he slid the drawing back into his bag.

"Yes," Auden smiled as she leaned in to kiss him.

"Oi, lovebirds!" yelled Ron as soon as Fred and Auden's faces were an inch away. "Get in the car before we leave without you!"

Auden sighed, laughed and gave Fred a quick kiss before dashing to car. "You're a jerk, Ronald," she said, punching him playfully as she slid into the seat.

"I thought you were so thrilled that Auden and I were dating," Fred smirked, sliding in as well.

"I was…I am…but not when you two start kissing," Ron answered.

"Then you can kindly avert your eyes next time," Auden smiled.

"Yeah, I will," Ron crossed his arms, pretending to be angry.

Auden laughed. "You just wait until you have a girlfriend Ronald Weasley."

"Yeah, we'll see how you like getting interrupted every two minutes," Fred added, grinning.

"Maybe I'm thinking of swearing off girls forever." There was a hint of frustration in Ron's voice that made Auden smirk knowingly.

"Yeah right, that won't last long." Fred rolled his eyes. "That's like Percy saying he's thinking of quitting his job and joining the circus."

"Although," added George, "the circus suits him better."

Ron had to laugh at George's comment and that got the rest of them laughing as well. The laughter was preventing any thoughts of Voldemort from entering their minds, but if only they knew of the increasing changes that were to come. Life at Hogwarts was going to become a lot different.

* * *

**A/N: I hope everyone likes this chapter and the sequel should be up soon so be sure to check back for that. I'm really excited to start it! Thanks for all of the support on this story. You've all been great!**


	25. The Sequel

**This is just a preview of the sequel to this story. It's called Ups and Downs and 6 chapters are already up. I decided to add a preview here in case anyone didn't know about the sequel. Sorry for the random notification to anyone who did know already :)**

* * *

"Auden, come on, we're leaving!" called Mrs. Parker.

Auden grabbed her things and walked down the stairs. They were traveling by Floo Powder to Grimmauld Place and meeting the Weasley's there.

"I'll take your trunk and go first. You and your mother will follow," Mr. Parker told Auden, dragging her trunk into the fireplace with him. He threw down some powder. "12 Gimmauld Place!" he yelled as he vanished into green flames.

"Come on, dear," Mrs. Parker said, stepping into the fireplace. Auden followed and stood next to her mom who grabbed a handful of powder and threw it down, yelling out their destination.

Auden felt the usual spinning sensation that came with traveling by fireplace. She hated traveling by Floo Powder, but seeing as she couldn't Apparate yet and brooms were too slow, this was the only option. Fred and George had promised to Apparate with her using Side Along Apparation since they were of age now, but it hadn't happened yet, so she had no experience with it at all.

Finally, Auden and her mother arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place. Auden stepped out of the fire only to be immediately pulled into a tight hug by Mrs. Weasley. "How are you dear?" she asked as she let go of Auden and brushed soot off her shoulders.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley, how are you?" Auden glanced around quickly and noticed they were in the kitchen that looked like it was the basement of the house.

"I've been worse," Mrs. Weasley gave a weak smile. "Everyone in the Order's just been stressed lately. Your dad brought your trunk upstairs. You'll be sharing a room with Hermione and Ginny like always. We just got here as well, so Ginny is probably still unpacking and Hermione's coming a little later, just in time for dinner. Harry will be here around that time as well. Just go straight up to the second floor and it's the first door on the left."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," Auden smiled. She wondered were Fred and George's room was. She couldn't wait to see them, but especially Fred.

"The twins are on the third floor and the second door on the left," Sirius said, coming into the room and grinning. He seemed to know exactly what Auden was thinking.

"Hey Sirius," Auden grinned. "And thanks…you read my mind."

"No problem," Sirius grinned.

"Now, wait a minute, Auden," Mrs. Parker said with a grin as Mr. Parker came down the stairs.

"I know what you're going to say so Fred and I will stay at least five feet away from each other and we won't talk, laugh, smile, or have fun," Auden joked.

"That's all we ask," her dad smiled.


End file.
